Dry cupping therapy and the wellness management of health travelers

• Main Authors: Salman Majeed, Mahwash Majeed, Moshood Ameenat Ajike
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hong Kong Gold Orchid Science and Technology Co., Limited 2019-01-01
• Series: Traditional Medicine Research
• Subjects: Wellness management; Health; Dry cupping therapy; Alternative therapies; Traveler behavior
• Online Access: https://www.tmrjournals.com/tmr/EN/10.12032/TMR201915095

Objective: Individuals travel locally and internationally in order to find alternative treatments which are less-toxic and more beneficial to their health and wellness. Despite the popularity of the western system of medicine, cupping therapies are gaining enormous attention in Pakistan as a system of traditional and complementary medicine to ensure the quality of life and wellness notions of the people. The present study aims to examine the effectiveness of dry cupping therapy (DCT) on the health, wellness, and quality of life preferences of health-seeking travelers in a sample of Faisalabad. Methods: DCT was performed for 15 - 20 minutes on subjects by using 3 - 5 disposable cupping glasses. Study participants filled the questionnaires before and after DCT interventions. Partial least square structural equation modeling technique is used in order to statistically analyze the data. Results: A total of 187 subjects participated in two DCT interventions at Coural Wellness Center Faisalabad and provided their final responses after 30 days from 2nd DCT. Respondents’ perceptions of their physical feelings were generally found in a significantly positive and direct relation with DCT and health status, i.e., body pain (β = 0.019), vitality (β = 0.138), and bodily movement (β = 0.207). This trend was observed in the psychological feelings of respondents as well, i.e., emotional feelings (β = 0.169). DCT significantly mediated the overall phenomenon and variance account for values were found between 20% and 80 % for all the study constructs. The scores of all the health and wellness items on the questionnaire were significantly improved in 79.68% of studied participants after 1st and 2nd DCT interventions except for social functioning. Conclusion: Findings of the present study suggest that DCT has an important role in determining the health perceptions and HS of health travelers without potential side-effects. It can improve the health and overall quality of life of the people by positively influencing their physical and psychological health perceptions. It additionally leads to improve travelers’ emotion, behavior, and other daily matters.