Dry cupping for plantar fasciitis: a randomized controlled trial.
Weiqing Ge, Chelsea Leson, Corey Vukovic
PMID 28603360WHAT IT FOUND
For plantar fasciitis, dry cupping and electrical stimulation each improved pain and function, but neither was clearly better.
Key findings
01Both dry cupping and electrical stimulation reduced pain and increased function significantly in the tested group.
02Dry cupping did not differ significantly from electrical stimulation on any measured outcome.
03Average VAS pain decreased by 29.8 mm with dry cupping and 28.0 mm with electrical stimulation, with no significant between-group difference.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample was small, with 29 people, and recruited by convenience sampling from a university campus, so it may not represent typical patients. Participants were mostly young volunteers and the sample lacked diversity. The study was not double-blind, so participants and researchers could know the treatment. Treatments lasted only four weeks, and no longer-term follow-up is reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that dry cupping outperforms electrical stimulation or standard care. The trial was small, unblinded, and found no significant between-group differences.