Comparative pilot study on the effects of pulsating and static cupping on non-specific neck pain and local skin blood perfusion

To compare the effects of pulsating and static cupping on non-specific neck pain and local skin microcirculation blood perfusion, which is a pilot study.Seventy participants with non-specific neck pain were randomized to the following groups: low-frequency pulsating cupping (LF, n = 20); high-frequency pulsating cupping (HF, n = 20); static cupping (SC, n = 20), or waiting list (WL, n = 10). The LF, HF, and SC received a bilateral 10-minute cupping treatment at Jianzhongshu (SI 15). Outcomes were pain intensity (visual analog scale, VAS), functional status (Neck Disability Index, NDI), and skin blood perfusion at the SI 15, Dazhui (GV 14), and Shenzhu (GV 12) acupoint areas, measured using Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis technology.Both LF and HF groups showed a significant reduction in VAS scores compared with the SC group (9.00, 95% CI 1.05–16.95, P = .027; 8.75, 95% CI 0.80–16.70, P = .031). There was no significant difference in VAS scores between the LF and HF groups (P > .05) and between NDI scores measured 3 days after intervention among the four groups (P > .05). In the SI 15 area, blood perfusion in the three treatment groups was higher than that in WL group (P < .01), and the perfusion unit (PU) of the HF pulsating group at 5 minutes after intervention was significantly higher compared with the SC group (P < .05). In the GV 14 area, blood perfusion in the two pulsating cupping groups was higher compared with the WL and SC groups after cupping (P < .05). In the GV 12 area, the PU of the LF group was higher compared with the other three groups only at the time of cup removal (P < .05).This study showed that pulsating cupping may have more favorable analgesic effects on non-specific neck pain compared with static cupping, which may be related to its better effect on improving the local skin blood perfusion.