EN 
AR 
The Creator has bestowed upon man many blessings, the most important of which is the structure of the human body, many of whose secrets are unknown. If we look at the human body and its working mechanisms, we will know the extent of this great blessing. The heart beats 100,000 times every 24 hours and pumps about 6 liters of blood through 96,000 miles of blood vessels. This 6 liters of blood contains 24 trillion cells and many other features of the human body. With this introduction, I wanted to emphasize the importance of the human body as a single unit and what it contains.
Medical cupping is a medical term that means the process of withdrawing blood humors from certain places in the body according to several medical theories, the most important of which are the spinal nerve theory, the Chinese acupuncture theory, the reflex theory, the barbell theory, and staglandin, with the aim of improving blood circulation, raising the percentage of oxygen in the cells, and improving the body’s immunity in general. Cupping was recommended by the Messenger; may God bless him and grant him peace. when he said, “The best treatment you can use is cupping.” The Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, cupped in several locations on the body, the most important of which are the withers, cheeks, buttocks, hips, back of the feet, and ankles. During the past years, people began to turn to cupping based on this logic as well, in addition to the medical logic, but it also appeared.
With this high demand, there are a number of wrong practices and incorrect beliefs, the reason for which I cannot determine, whether it is financial for the purpose of making a quick profit, ignorance due to a lack of sufficient knowledge about cupping, or charlatanism by trading in religion from weak souls who exploit religion in the wrong way to promote cupping. Also, people have appeared who give firm promises. Cupping cures all diseases, especially cancer or epidemic diseases, and this is certainly not scientific talk, despite our emphasis on the ability of God Almighty to heal any disease, regardless of its type.
Cupping is defined as a mini-surgical operation in which all health conditions must be met, starting from the workplace through to the method and type of tools used during the session, taking into account how safe the operation is for both parties. Among the wrong beliefs among people are:
- Cupping helps remove bad blood, and this statement is not scientifically correct at all, because there is no bad blood in the body, and if it were present, it would poison the body. Here, it must be noted that the extract is blood humor that contains free electrolytes and various blood cells.
- That cupping brought out clots from inside the body, so the person who did the cupping shows you the cup filled with clotted blood and says to extract this clotted blood from the body. This statement is not true at all and is considered a type of quackery and intimidation against the patient to convince him with words that are incorrect and not related to science. In any case, since the blood, after leaving the surface of the skin and being present for a period of time, clots naturally, in addition to the nature of the cupping cup.
- The menstrual cycle replaces the need for cupping. This belief is also incorrect, as the menstrual cycle is an unfertilized egg that explodes and its components dissolve, resulting in menstrual blood, which we can call bad blood after it leaves the body.
- Cupping is performed only in the spring. There is no scientific evidence to confirm the validity of this statement. As we know, cupping is of two types: preventive and therapeutic. In the case of treatment, we cannot be patient with some cases if the goal of cupping is to help treat the disease, and I emphasize the word “help.”
- There is only one type of cupping, which is only blood, and this is not true at all, because there are types of cupping, whether from a religious or medical perspective, especially since the use of the type of cupping depends on the situation.
- The more sterile the strip, the greater the benefit. This is also a completely wrong belief, because, as I said before, cupping is a process of withdrawing blood humor from the superficial capillaries—in other words, a superficial scratch to extract blood—and this is sufficient for the success of the operation, as it helps the wound heal in a faster way, and this is what It has become noticeable that many patients perform cupping, but the wound remains for years if the wound is deep.
- It is also a wrong practice to tighten while placing cupping cups on different places in the body, which, if increased, leads to tissue tearing and pain for the patient that can last for a long period, unfortunately.
- When cupping is performed once, it must be performed every year at the same time. This is also incorrect.
- Cupping and blood donation are both one and the same. This is scientifically inaccurate, as blood donation takes blood from a vein and its quantity is half a liter and contains all the components of the blood. As for cupping, the blood extracted from the capillaries and the amount of blood does not exceed a quarter of a liter per session, and plasma is little or no in the blood for cupping.
These are some of the wrong practices and beliefs that result from the misuse of cupping. I am not exaggerating if I say that all the risks that result from cupping are due to the misuse of cupping by those who have no experience, whether in the medical aspect or with cupping as a surgical procedure.
Nowadays, many people have begun practicing cupping without medical knowledge and for the purpose of quick financial gain. One of the funny situations in this matter is that one of the sisters wanted to learn cupping, so I asked her what is the purpose of learning cupping, and she shocked me with her answer that cupping has good financial returns and is popular in Islamic countries. I leave you to comment on this incident.
In the end, I emphasize the importance of medical cupping and its therapeutic role in some diseases and helping in treating some other diseases if it is applied correctly and without exaggeration, or spreading false beliefs to people, but its vital role within the body must be emphasized with its various theories, and here its medical importance must be demonstrated in particular.
To my fellow doctors, some of whom are still attacking cupping, they are right in some aspects if it is used incorrectly and excessively, or if it is a substitute for all modern medical treatments, which are the basis of medicine in diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, we always stress on the importance of this type of medicine being called complementary medicine, that is, a complement to the role of the doctor and not an alternative to traditional medicine, This is one of the theories of holistic medicine, which is based on the principle that traditional medicine and complementary medicine complement each other to achieve comprehensiveness in medicine and that they do not cancel each other out.
We are proud that cupping has international medical associations and organizations supporting it to publish various research papers to emphasize the importance of medical cupping in theory and practice, and this is what the British Society for Cupping Therapy has done during the past period.
Therefore, I advise everyone to pay attention to cupping, whether it is preventive or therapeutic, but based on scientific and methodological principles and to emphasize that healing is in the hands of God alone, with my wishes for everyone’s continued health and wellness.
Dr. Haiman Al-Nahhal
Specialist in complementary medicine and cupping therapy
Ambassador of the International Organization for Natural Medicine
Member of the British Association for Cupping Therapy