Comparison of Wet Cupping and Acupuncture in Migraine

March 24, 2024 updated by: SULEYMAN ERSOY, Karabuk University

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Wet Cupping and Acupuncture in Migraine: A Randomized Controlled Study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of wet cupping therapy (WCT) on migraine patients and compare it with acupuncture. The patients will be randomized into three groups. WCT will be applied once a month to patients in group 1 and acupuncture will be applied to group 2, while the control group (group 3) will be on standard therapy for migraine. An evaluation will be made before treatment and at the 3rd month using the MIDAS and VAS.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Background: The most common primary headache is migraine. Migraine was ranked as the sixth cause of years lost due to disability all over the world in 2013. . About 15% of the world's population has migraine. Every year, 14-35% of women and 6-15% of men have migraine. The economic burden caused by the disease, which is so common and affects new masses every year, is substantial, as well as the loss of workforce, treatment costs. According to the UK-NHS data; Migraines cause an economic burden of 2.25 billion pounds based on 25 million lost days each year and more than 150 million pounds based on care, examinations, and treatment. There may be some side effects, drug interactions, comorbid conditions, and resistance cases in pharmacological treatments. In this context, traditional treatment methods may be preferred due to the low incidence of side effects. . In this context, traditional treatment methods may be preferred due to the low incidence of side effects. Acupuncture, which is widely used among traditional methods, has been shown to reduce the frequency of headaches. There are few studies on the effectiveness of Hijama, which is another traditional method and frequently used in our geography,

Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate and compare the efficacy of wet cupping and acupuncture therapies in patients with migraine

Method: The patients who were referred to Umraniye Training Hospital Neurology polyclinic and diagnosed with migraine will be enrolled in the study.

The inclusion criteria are being 18-65 years old, having been diagnosed with migraine (ICHD-3 diagnosis criteria), and consenting to participate in the study. Those who are accompanied with any chronic disease and on daily medication, contraindicated to WCT as determined in the routine blood tests that were routinely performed before the prior to application (Hgb <9,5; INR> 1,2,; Hgb <9,5, etc) and who received WCT in the last three months will be excluded.

The volunteers will be randomized into three separate groups as wet cupping, acupuncture, and control group Control group will not receive any intervention. The wet cupping group will undergo 3 successive WCT sessions once in a month throughout 3 months (On 0, 30, and 60 days). Vacuum cups will be used on different acupuncture points to perform WCT: The one on the posterior median line, in the depression below the processus spinosus of the 7th cervical vertebra, was DU 14 (Dazhui) point; the ones on the back, 3.0 cm lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the 3rd thoracic vertebra interscapulum region were UB 42 (Pohu) bilateral points; and the ones on the back, 3.0 cm lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the 7th thoracic vertebra were UB 46 (Geguan) bilateral points and additionally the patient's trigger points which we detect during the examination. There will be 5-7 points in total. The technique used will be triple S (Sucking, Scarification, Sucking) in all sessions.

The acupuncture group will receive acupuncture application which will be done by manually needling on selected acupuncture points specific to the disease twice a week for 4 weeks. After the needles are placed, they will be manipulated to create a feeling of de-qi and will be left for 20 minutes.

At 0 and 3 months, MIDAS and VAS questionnaires will be applied to all patient groups Evaluation and comparison between the groups will be made with the scores of these questionnaires.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

150

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • İ̇stanbul
      • İstanbul, İ̇stanbul, Turkey, 34070
        • Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients between the ages of 18-65 who were diagnosed with migraine, no concomitant chronic disease and who gave their consent to participate in the study will be recruited.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1. Having a bleeding diathesis

    2. Receiving antithrombotic and antiaggregant therapy

    3. Chronic disease that requires continuous drug use have

    4. Wet cupping or hirudotherapy treatment in the last 3 months to have received 5.Be younger than 18 years old and over 65 years old 6. Having a hemoglobin value below 9.5 g/dl 7. INR value over 1.5

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Wet cupping therapy
The intervention group will undergo 3 successive wet cupping therapy (WCT) sessions once in a month throughout 3 months (On 0, 30, and 60 days. Cups will be held for 5 minutes on the 5 regions of the C7 cervical spine (DU14 acupuncture point), bilateral T2-4 lateral spine (BL41-42 acupoint) and bilateral T6-8 lateral spine (BL44-46) points, which are recommended areas for headache, Then, these areas where the blood supply has increased will be drawn with a sterile lancet and the cup will be applied again and left for 10 minutes, and then the cups will be removed and the accumulated blood will be cleaned.
Wet cupping therapy is a bloodletting application done by cups on the skin
Other Names:
  • Hijama
Experimental: Acupuncture
Acupuncture application will be done by manually needling selected acupuncture points specific to the disease twice a week for 4 weeks. After the needles are placed, they will be manipulated to create a feeling of de-qi and left for 20 minutes.
Acupuncture is a complementary application of TCM done by needles
No Intervention: Control
Control group will not receive any intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The change from the baseline (at 0 month) MIDAS scores at 3th month
Time Frame: At 0 and 3 months
The Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire is a brief, self-administered questionnaire designed to quantify headache-related disability over a 3 month period.
At 0 and 3 months
The change from the baseline (at 0 month) VAS scores at 3 th month
Time Frame: At 0 and 3 months
Visual analogue scales (VAS) are well-validated instruments for assessing pain intensity. Scores are recorded by a mark on a 10-cm line that represents 0 as "no pain" and 10 as "worst pain."
At 0 and 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Emin Pala, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 5, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

December 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 5, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 15, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

March 16, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 26, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2024

Last Verified

March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • WCTACCU1

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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