Lauche Romy, Cramer Holger, Langhorst Jost, Dobos Gustav
Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Forsch Komplementmed. 2013;20(5):328-33. doi: 10.1159/000355634. Epub 2013 Oct 18.
Several trials have shown that cupping might be an effective treatment for chronic nonspecific neck pain, but little is known about the long-term effectiveness. This study aimed to investigate long-term effects of a short series of cupping; therefore additional follow-up measurements were conducted 2 years after completion of 3 studies.
Participants from 3 randomized waitlist controlled trials on cupping for chronic nonspecific neck pain were followed 2 years after treatment. Outcome measures included neck pain intensity (100 mm Visual Analog Scale; VAS), functional disability (Neck Disability Index, NDI), and health-related quality of life (Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire; SF-36).
133 of 150 patients had received cupping treatment and were contacted; 82 of them (61.7%) returned the follow-up questionnaires. No effect was found for neck pain intensity, but for physical function (∆ NDI: -3.15; 95% CI: -5.89; -0.41; p = 0.025) and quality of life (∆ physical component summary: 2.97; 95% CI: 0.97; 4.97; p = 0.004; ∆ bodily pain: 14.53; 95 % CI: 9.67; 19.39; p < 0.001). Mean duration of cupping effect was 8.9 ± 8.7 months with 16 patients reporting that neck pain had not yet reached the level before cupping. The majority of the patients did not continue cupping therapy, mostly due to lack of providers, costs or loss of interest.
A series of cupping treatments did not influence neck pain intensity on the longer term, however significant increases were found for physical function and quality of life in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain. Due to the considerable drop-out rate conclusions are limited. There is evidence suggesting that cupping treatment might have sustainable effects in some patients. Further randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up are urgently needed for conclusive judgment of long-term effectiveness.
多项试验表明，拔罐可能是治疗慢性非特异性颈部疼痛的有效方法，但对其长期疗效了解甚少。本研究旨在调查短期拔罐系列治疗的长期效果；因此，在3项研究完成2年后进行了额外的随访测量。
对3项关于拔罐治疗慢性非特异性颈部疼痛的随机等待列表对照试验的参与者在治疗2年后进行随访。结局指标包括颈部疼痛强度（100毫米视觉模拟量表；VAS）、功能障碍（颈部功能障碍指数，NDI）和健康相关生活质量（简明健康调查36项问卷；SF-36）。
150名患者中有133名接受了拔罐治疗并被联系；其中82名（61.7%）返回了随访问卷。未发现对颈部疼痛强度有影响，但对身体功能（∆NDI：-3.15；95%CI：-5.89；-0.41；p = 0.025）和生活质量（∆身体成分总结：2.97；95%CI：0.97；4.97；p = 0.004；∆身体疼痛：14.53；95%CI：9.67；19.39；p < 0.001）有影响。拔罐效果的平均持续时间为8.9±8.7个月，16名患者报告颈部疼痛尚未恢复到拔罐前的水平。大多数患者没有继续拔罐治疗，主要原因是缺乏提供者、费用或兴趣丧失。
一系列拔罐治疗对颈部疼痛强度的长期影响不明显，然而，慢性非特异性颈部疼痛患者的身体功能和生活质量有显著提高。由于相当高的失访率，结论有限。有证据表明，拔罐治疗可能对一些患者有持续效果。迫切需要进一步的长期随访随机对照试验来最终判断长期疗效。
