Hijama (Arabic: ?????? lit. "sucking") is the alternative medical procedure and Arabic term for wet cupping, where blood is drawn by vacuum from a small skin incision for therapeutic purposes. Cupping is poorly supported by scientific evidence. Whether cupping has any effect at all, even on pain is supported at best by "tentative" evidence. Any reported benefits are likely due to the placebo effect.
The practice has Greek, Arab, Turkish and Persian origin and is mentioned by Hippocrates. It is reported that the Islamic prophet Muhammad said, "Indeed the best of remedies you have is hijama, and if there was something excellent to be used as a remedy then it is hijama."
Video Hijama
Procedure
Hijama can be performed almost anywhere on the body, often at the site of an ache or pain in order to ease or alleviate it. A more conservative approach warns against overuse of cupping and suggests that six optimal points on the body are all that is required to "clean" the entire cardiovascular system. The location is first shaved, if necessary, to ensure a tight seal with the cup. The mouth of a cup (metal, glass and plastic cups are generally used, although traditionally horns were used) is placed on the skin at the site chosen for hijama. A tight seal is then created. The traditional method is to burn a small piece of paper or cotton inside the vessel, so that the mouth of the cup clings to the skin. Some practitioners now use a machine instead of the manual cups. Some practitioners still strictly adhere to the Prophetic method with the use of fire, both for sterility and the benefits or properties from the element of fire itself that may be present. An additional reason to use fire to create the vacuum in the cup is that there is no danger of pumping out too much blood (as might occur mechanically). Drawing out more blood is not necessarily better for the patient. The cup is left to cling to the skin for a few minutes, then it is lifted off and several very small incisions are made in the skin. The cup is then put back as it was before until the flow of blood subsides. Hijama is considered a form of energy medicine because it has been claimed to "unclog" purported meridians in the body, and is viewed by some practitioners as a cure for black magic and possession. According to hadith, adhering to certain rules such as hijama being done on odd numbered days, during the last half of the lunar calendar, during the warmer months of the year, and never on Wednesdays and Saturdays, will make the therapy more effective.
Maps Hijama
Evidence
In March 2011 three systematic reviews were analyzed for the effectiveness of wet and dry cupping in which two out of three showed some evidence for effectiveness of cupping for pain. Favorable effects were shown when wet cupping was combined with adjuvant conventional treatments. One of the three reviews showed little effectiveness for cupping for stroke rehabilitation. However few randomized control trials have been done to examine the effectiveness of cupping and many studies published are of low quality or have many limitations.
Using a pre-post research design, 70 patients with chronic tension or migraine headache were treated with wet-cupping. Three primary outcome measures were considered at the baseline and 3 months following treatment: headache severity, days of headache per month, and use of medication. Results suggest that, compared to the baseline, mean headache severity decreased by 66% following wet-cupping treatment. Treated patients also experienced the equivalent of 12.6 fewer days of headache per month. It was concluded that wet-cupping leads to clinical relevant benefits for primary care patients with headache. Possible mechanisms of wet-cupping efficacy, as well as directions for future research are discussed.
There is some evidence that wet-cupping is effective in the treatment of non-specific lower back pain. Studies have also shown some evidence that it may be effective in the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. For the treatment of cancer, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that HIJAMA confers any health benefits.
Cupping has not been studied in large, controlled clinical trials. Part of the reason for that is because it would be difficult to have a control group. Placebo effects can be strong, especially in regards to psychological effect of very large visible marks. Research into wet/dry cupping is mostly negative or of poor quality and with high bias.
Cupping is poorly supported by scientific evidence. In their 2008 book Trick or Treatment, Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst write that no evidence exists of any beneficial effects of cupping for any medical condition. A 2011 review found tentative evidence for pain but nothing else.
Any reported benefits are likely due to the placebo effect.
Practitioners
Cupping [hijama] remained a constant in professional medical treatment throughout Europe. It was practiced by such famous physicians as Galen (131-200 AD), Paracelsus (1493-1541) and Ambroise Pare (1509-90). Cupping [hijama] was also practiced by other practitioners including barbers, surgeons and bath house attendants.
Safety
Cupping has side effects aside in the form of pain of skin cuts. One potentially serious risk is infection. Another possible minor side effect which may occur is light-headedness post therapy, similar to the sensation one feels when donating blood. Cupping [hijama] encourages blood flow to the cupped region (hyperemia), one may therefore feel warmer and hotter as a result of vasodilatation taking place and slight sweating may occur. Pregnant women or menstruating women, cancer (metastatic) patients and patients with bone fractures or muscle spasms are also believed to be contra-indicated. Some practitioners suggest that a low risk of blood clotting is possible and therefore walking and staying awake after a procedure is advisable.
Society and culture
In Islamic hadith
Cupping is mentioned in the Islamic hadith (reported sayings of Muhammad):
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: (The Prophet said), "Healing is in three things: A gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire (cauterizing). But I forbid my followers to use (cauterization) branding with fire."(The cauterization is forbidden if used on a healthy organ because it was at that time a common superstition to use it to prevent bad predestination )
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet was cupped on his head for an ailment he was suffering from while he was in a state of Ihram at a water place called Lahl Jamal. Ibn 'Abbas further said: Allah's Messenger was cupped on his head for unilateral headache while he was in a state of Ihram.
It is narrated on the authority of Humaid that Anas b. Malik was asked about the earnings of the cupper. He said: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) got himself cupped. His cupper was Abu Taiba and he (the Prophet) commanded to give him two sa's [a unit of measurement] of dates. He (the Holy Prophet) talked with the members of his family and they lightened the burden of Kharaj (tax) from him (i.e. they made remission in the charges of their own accord). He (Allah's Messenger) said: The best (treatment) which you take is cupping, or it is the best of your treatments.
See also
- Bloodletting
- Ijaza
- Gua Sha
- Cupping therapy
- Medicine in medieval Islam
- Blood donation
- Hematology
- History of medicine
References
Further reading
- Salah Mohamed El Sayed. French translation of articles available on this links : https://www.slideshare.net/pauljoseph76/bases-mdicales-et-scientifiques-de-lhijamah-docteur-el-sayed-76739444 [archive] et également https://www.slideshare.net/pauljoseph76/percutaneous-excretion-of-iron-and-ferritin-through-alhijamah-2014-french-translation-02062017-76739720
- Dr Feroz Osman-Latib (31 Oct 2013). Islamic Cupping & Hijamah: A Complete Guide. EDI Publishers. p. 132. ISBN 9780991145508.
- Mahdavi, M. (2011). "Evaluation of the Effects of Traditional Cupping on the Biochemical, Hematological and Immunological Factors of Human Venous Blood" (PDF). A Compendium of Essays on Alternative Therapy. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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