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Ventosaterapia e dor crônica nas costas: revisão sistemática e metanálise

RESUMO

Objetivos:

avaliar as evidências da literatura a respeito dos efeitos da ventosoterapia sobre a dor crônica nas costas em adultos, os desfechos mais utilizados para avaliar essa condição, o protocolo utilizado para aplicação da intervenção e investigar a eficácia da ventosaterapia sobre a intensidade dor crônica nas costas.

Método:

revisão sistemática e metanálise, realizadas por dois pesquisadores independentes, em bases de dados nacionais e internacionais. Listas de referências de revisões sistemáticas também foram exploradas. A qualidade das evidências foi avaliada através da escala Jadad.

Resultados:

foram identificados 611 estudos e 16 foram incluídos na análise qualitativa e 10 na análise quantitativa. A ventosaterapia demonstrou resultados positivos sobre a dor crônica nas costas. Não há uma padronização no protocolo de tratamento. Os principais desfechos avaliados foram a intensidade da dor, a incapacidade física, a qualidade de vida e o limiar nociceptivo perante o estímulo mecânico. Houve redução significativa do escore de intensidade da dor mediante uso da ventosaterapia (p=0.001).

Conclusão:

a ventosaterapia é um método promissor para o tratamento da dor crônica nas costas em adultos. Faz-se necessário estabelecer protocolos de aplicação padronizados para a intervenção.

Descritores:
Revisão; Dor Crônica; Dor nas Costas; Ventosaterapia; Metanálise; Enfermagem

ABSTRACT

Objectives:

to evaluate the evidence from the literature regarding the effects of cupping therapy on chronic back pain in adults, the most used outcomes to evaluate this condition, the protocol used to apply the intervention and to investigate the effectiveness of cupping therapy on the intensity of chronic back pain.

Method:

systematic review and meta-analysis carried out by two independent researchers in national and international databases. Reference lists of systematic reviews were also explored. The quality of evidence was assessed according to the Jadad scale.

Results:

611 studies were identified, of which 16 were included in the qualitative analysis and 10 in the quantitative analysis. Cupping therapy has shown positive results on chronic back pain. There is no standardization in the treatment protocol. The main assessed outcomes were pain intensity, physical incapacity, quality of life and nociceptive threshold before the mechanical stimulus. There was a significant reduction in the pain intensity score through the use of cupping therapy (p = 0.001).

Conclusion:

cupping therapy is a promising method for the treatment of chronic back pain in adults. There is the need to establish standardized application protocols for this intervention.

Descriptors:
Review; Chronic Pain; Back Pain; Cupping Therapy; Meta-Analysis; Nursing

RESUMEN

Objetivos:

evaluar las evidencias de la literatura al respecto de los efectos de la ventosoterapia sobre el dolor crónico en la espalda en adultos, los resultados más utilizados para evaluar esa condición, el protocolo utilizado para la aplicación de la intervención e investigar la eficacia de la ventosaterapia sobre la intensidad de dolor crónico en la espalda.

Método:

revisión sistemática y metanálisis, realizadas por dos investigadores independientes, en bases de datos nacionales e internacionales. Listas de referencias de revisiones sistemáticas también fueron exploradas. La calidad de las evidencias fue evaluada por la escala Jadad.

Resultados:

fueron identificados 611 estudios y 16 fueron incluidos en el análisis cualitativo y 10 en el análisis cuantitativo. La ventosaterapia demostró resultados positivos sobre el dolor crónico en la espalda. No hay una estandarización en el protocolo de tratamiento. Los principales resultados evaluados fueron la intensidad del dolor, la incapacidad física, la calidad de vida y el umbral nociceptivo frente al estímulo mecánico. Hubo reducción significativa del puntaje de intensidad del dolor mediante uso de la ventosaterapia (p=0.001).

Conclusión:

la ventosaterapia es un método promisor para el tratamiento del dolor crónico en la espalda en adultos. Es necesario establecer protocolos de aplicación estandarizados para la intervención.

Descriptores:
Revisión; Dolor Crónico; Dolor de Espalda; Ventosas; Meta-Análisis; Enfermería

Introdução

A dor crônica nas costas gera alterações físicas, emocionais e socioeconômicas11 Sielski R, Rief W, Glombiewski JA. Efficacy of Biofeedback in Chronic back Pain: a Meta-Analysis. Int J Behav Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 9, 2018];24(1):25-41. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12529-016-9572-9
https://link.springer.com/article/10.100...

2 Vos T, Barber RN, Bell B, Bertozzi-Villa A, Biryukov S, Bolliger I, et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 9, 2018];386(9995):743-800. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4561509/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-33 Bergström G, Hagberg J, Busch H, Jensen I, Björklund C. Prediction of sickness absenteeism, disability pension and sickness presenteeism among employees with back pain. J Occup Rehabil. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 9, 2018];24(2):278-86. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4000420/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, e, consequentemente, elevado uso de medicamentos e de recursos de saúde44 Gore M, Sadosky A, Stacey BR, Tai KS, Leslie D. The burden of chronic low back pain: clinical comorbidities, treatment patterns, and health care costs in usual care settings. Spine. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 9, 2018];37(11):E668-77. Available from: https://insights.ovid.com/pubmed?pmid=22146287
https://insights.ovid.com/pubmed?pmid=22...
. A busca pela desmedicalização leva à utilização, cada vez mais frequente, das práticas integrativas e complementares, como os recursos da Medicina Tradicional Chinesa (MTC), para complementar os cuidados alopáticos relacionados à dor55 Sita Ananth M. 2010 Complementary Alternative Medicine Survey of Hospitals - Summary of Results. [Internet]. Alexandria, VA: Samueli Institute; 2011 [cited May 13, 2018]. Available from: https://allegralearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CAM-Survey-FINAL-2011.pdf
https://allegralearning.com/wp-content/u...
. A ventosaterapia é uma das terapêuticas da MTC indicada para redução da dor crônica66 Wang YT, Qi Y, Tang FY, Li FM, Li QH, Xu CP, et al. The effect of cupping therapy for low back pain: A meta-analysis based on existing randomized controlled trials. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];30(6):1187-95. Available from: https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-back-and-musculoskeletal-rehabilitation/bmr169736
https://content.iospress.com/articles/jo...
. Envolve a aplicação de copos de diferentes materiais77 Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping Therapy: An Overview From A Modern Medicine Perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018]; S2005-2901(17):30204-2. Available from: https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2901(17)30204-2/pdf
https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2...
, em um acuponto ou área de dor, mediante aparelhos de calor ou vácuo88 Cao H, Li X, Yan X, Wang NS, Bensoussan A, Liu J. Cupping therapy for acute and chronic pain management: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. J Tradit Chin Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):49-61. Available from: https://ac.els-cdn.com/S2095754814000040/1-s2.0-S2095754814000040-main.pdf?_tid=c1e983c6-64eb-465c-9208-08657cacb479&acdnat=1526231974_f88ac1fbce7d2ac75da5b3f28000df71
https://ac.els-cdn.com/S2095754814000040...
.

O efeito na redução da dor ainda não está bem elucidado99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
, porém diferentes mecanismos de ação, baseados em vários pressupostos1010 Kheirandish H, Shojaeeefar E, Meysamie A. Role of Cupping in the treatment of different diseases:systematic review article. Tehran Univ Med J. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];74(12):829-42. Available from: http://tumj.tums.ac.ir/article-1-7880-en.html.
http://tumj.tums.ac.ir/article-1-7880-en...
, são atribuíveis à ventosaterapia, como as hipóteses metabólica, neuronal99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,1111 Rozenfeld E, Kalichman L. New is the well-forgotten old: The use of dry cupping in musculoskeletal medicine. J Bodyw Mov Ther. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];20(1):173-8. Available from: https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.com/article/S1360-8592(15)00279-X/pdf
https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.co...
e da MTC1212 Markowski A, Sanford S, Pikowski J, Fauvell D, Cimino D, Caplan S. A Pilot Study Analyzing the Effects of Chinese Cupping as an Adjunct Treatment for Patients with Subacute Low Back Pain on Relieving Pain, Improving Range of Motion, and Improving Function. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];20(2):113-7. Available from: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2014.5302.abstract
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.10...
. A comprovação da eficácia dessa intervenção é limitada devido à falta de estudos do tipo ensaio clínico randomizado (ECR), de alta qualidade e bem delineados66 Wang YT, Qi Y, Tang FY, Li FM, Li QH, Xu CP, et al. The effect of cupping therapy for low back pain: A meta-analysis based on existing randomized controlled trials. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];30(6):1187-95. Available from: https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-back-and-musculoskeletal-rehabilitation/bmr169736
https://content.iospress.com/articles/jo...
, que resultem em protocolos validados e eficientes para o tratamento da dor crônica nas costas. Portanto, este estudo tem por objetivo avaliar as evidências da literatura a respeito dos efeitos da ventosoterapia sobre a dor crônica nas costas em adultos, em comparação com placebo (sham), tratamento ativo, lista de espera, tratamento médico padrão ou nenhum tratamento, os desfechos mais utilizados para avaliar essa condição, o protocolo utilizado para aplicação da intervenção e, posteriormente, investigar a eficácia da ventosaterapia sobre a intensidade dor crônica nas costas.

Método

Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura, seguida de metanálise, utilizada para determinar a intensidade da dor nas costas de clientela adulta. O estudo foi fundamentado nos critérios do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA Statement)1313 Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];6(7):e1000097. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2707599/pdf/pmed.1000097.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
.

A estratégia PICO (P - population; I - intervention; C - comparison; O - outcomes)1414 Higgins JPT, Green S (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.1.0. The Cochrane Collaboration; 2011. Available from: http://handbook-5-1.cochrane.org/
http://handbook-5-1.cochrane.org...
guiou a elaboração da pergunta norteadora: “Quais são os efeitos da ventosaterapia em adultos com dor crônica nas costas?”.

A estratégia de busca, feita por dois revisores independentes, de junho de 2017 a maio de 2018, foi realizada nas seguintes bases de dados: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) via US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (PUBMED), Web of Science, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Embase, Scopus, além das bases indexadas na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), como a Literatura Latino-americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) e o Centro Nacional de Informação de Ciências Médicas de Cuba (CUMED). Listas de referências de revisões sistemáticas também foram exploradas na busca de estudos relevantes relacionados à questão norteadora.

Os termos, controlados e livres, foram combinados por meio dos operadores boleanos OR e AND da seguinte forma: (“Back Pain” OR “Low Back Pain” OR “Sciatica” OR “Chronic Pain” OR “Musculoskeletal Pain” OR Myalgia OR “Neck Pain” OR “Low Back Pains” OR “Musculoskeletal Pains” OR “Muscle Pain” OR “Neck Pains” OR “Cervical Pain” OR “Cervical Pains” OR Lumbago OR “lumbar pain”) AND (“cupping therapy” OR cupping OR cups).

Os critérios de elegibilidade para a seleção dos artigos foram: ECR com adultos (18 anos ou mais); dor crônica (há três meses ou mais)1515 Merskey H, Bogduk N (editors). Classification of chronic pain. Descriptions of chronic pain syndromes and definitions of pain terms. 2nd ed. Prepared by Task Force on Taxonomy of the International Association for the Study of Pain. [Internet]. 2002 [cited May 13, 2018]. 238p. Available from: https://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/ContentFolders/Publications2/FreeBooks/Classification-of-Chronic-Pain.pdf
https://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/...
em pelo menos um dos segmentos da coluna vertebral (cervical, torácica e/ou lombar); uso de ventosaterapia (dry, wet, massage, flash)77 Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping Therapy: An Overview From A Modern Medicine Perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018]; S2005-2901(17):30204-2. Available from: https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2901(17)30204-2/pdf
https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2...
comparada a um ou mais dos seguintes grupos: sham, tratamento ativo, lista de espera, tratamento médico padrão ou nenhum tratamento. Foram excluídos os estudos que não apresentaram resumo on line na íntegra para análise, aqueles que não foram localizados por nenhum meio e estudos com gestantes.

Para a coleta das informações dos estudos selecionados foi usado um formulário1616 Moura CC, Carvalo CC, Silva AM, Iunes DH, Carvalho EC, Chaves ECL. Effect of auriculotherapy on anxiety. Rev Cuba Enferm. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018]; 30 (2):1-15. Available from: http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/revcubenf/cnf-2014/cnf142e.pdf
http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/revcuben...
adaptado de acordo com as recomendações do Revised Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA)1717 MacPherson H, Altman DG, Hammerschlag R, Youping L, Taixiang W, White A, et al. Revised Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA): Extending the CONSORT Statement. PLoS Med. [Internet]. 2010 [cited May 13, 2018];7(6):1-11. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2882429/pdf/pmed.1000261.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e das classificações da ventosaterapia77 Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping Therapy: An Overview From A Modern Medicine Perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018]; S2005-2901(17):30204-2. Available from: https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2901(17)30204-2/pdf
https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2...
,1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
.

Os seguintes dados foram extraídos: identificação do artigo (título, autor(es)/área de formação, periódico, ano de publicação, país/idioma do estudo); objetivos; características metodológicas (delineamento, tamanho da amostra e perda de seguimento; critérios de inclusão e exclusão); dados clínicos (número de pacientes por sexo, idade média, diagnóstico, duração dos sintomas); descrição das intervenções nos grupos de acompanhamento (número de sessões; duração do tratamento; tipo de técnica aplicada (dry, wet, flash ou massage cupping); dispositivo de aplicação; tempo de permanência do dispositivo; método da sucção (manual, fogo, automático-elétrico)/força da sucção (leve, média, forte ou pulsátil)1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
; peculiaridades da intervenção; pontos de aplicação; formação do profissional que realizou a intervenção; anos de experiência na área); desfechos e métodos de avaliação (número de avaliações, intervalos entre elas, ferramentas de mensuração); análise dos dados; principais resultados; e conclusões do estudo.

A qualidade metodológica dos estudos elegíveis foi avaliada por meio da escala de Jadad1919 Jadad AR, Moore RA, Carroll D, Jenkinson C, Reynolds DJ, Gavaghan DJ, et al. Assessing the Quality of Reports of Randomized Clinical Trials: Is Blinding Necessary? Control Clin Trials. [Internet]. 1996 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):1-12. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0197245695001344?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
, que é centrada na validade interna. As questões possuem opção de resposta sim/não, com um escore total de cinco pontos: três vezes um ponto para as respostas sim e dois pontos adicionais para métodos apropriados de randomização e sigilo de alocação. Dois revisores independentes realizaram a avaliação, e um terceiro investigador foi consultado para solucionar possíveis divergências.

As análises dos dados foram realizadas por meio do software estatístico Stata SE/12.0. A diferença absoluta entre médias, com intervalos de confiança de 95%, foi selecionada para descrever as diferenças médias entre os grupos tratados e controle na avaliação realizada logo após o tratamento. Valor p<0.05 foi considerado como estatisticamente significativo. A heterogeneidade potencial entre os estudos foi examinada por meio das estatísticas Q de Cochran2020 Lau J, Ioannidis JP, Schmid CH. Quantitative synthesis in systematic reviews. Ann Intern Med. [Internet]. 1997 [cited May 13, 2018];127(9):820-6. Available from: http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/710939/quantitative-synthesis-systematic-reviews?volume=127&issue=9&page=820
http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/7...
e I2(2121 Higgins JPT, Thompson SG. Quantifying heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. Statist. Med. [Internet]. 2002 [cited May 13, 2018];21:1539-58. Available from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d76b/de423b71f1cb900b988311bd2d71b700d506.pdf
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d76b/de...
. Como houve significância estatística no teste de heterogeneidade dos resultados (p<0.05) e o valor calculado de I2 sugere uma heterogeneidade de moderada à alta (67,7%)2121 Higgins JPT, Thompson SG. Quantifying heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. Statist. Med. [Internet]. 2002 [cited May 13, 2018];21:1539-58. Available from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d76b/de423b71f1cb900b988311bd2d71b700d506.pdf
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d76b/de...
, o modelo de efeitos aleatórios foi adotado para a análise.

Resultados

Um total de 614 estudos foram encontrados nas buscas eletrônica e manual. Destes, 296 foram removidos da listagem por estarem duplicados. Após revisão de títulos e resumos, 265 estudos foram excluídos e 53 permaneceram para análise do texto completo. Onze estudos não foram localizados (online, via comutação bibliográfica ou contato direto com os autores) e 26 artigos foram excluídos. Finalmente, 16 artigos permaneceram na revisão para a síntese da análise qualitativa e 10 artigos entraram para a análise quantitativa (Figura 1).

Figura 1
Fluxograma da busca na literatura e processo de seleção. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 2018

Todos os artigos selecionados foram publicados em inglês e realizados na Alemanha99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

23 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, em Taiwan2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...

29 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
-3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, no Irã3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

32 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
, na Coreia do Sul3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
-3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e na Arábia Saudita3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. Participaram dos estudos 1049 pessoas, entre 18 e 79 anos, sendo 519 nos grupos que receberam a ventosaterapia (experimental) e 530 nos grupos-controle (sham, lista de espera, tratamento médico padrão/tratamento ativo ou nenhum tratamento). Destes, todos apresentavam condições crônicas de dor1515 Merskey H, Bogduk N (editors). Classification of chronic pain. Descriptions of chronic pain syndromes and definitions of pain terms. 2nd ed. Prepared by Task Force on Taxonomy of the International Association for the Study of Pain. [Internet]. 2002 [cited May 13, 2018]. 238p. Available from: https://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/ContentFolders/Publications2/FreeBooks/Classification-of-Chronic-Pain.pdf
https://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/...
, sendo a coluna cervical/pescoço a área mais acometida99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
, seguida pela região lombar2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

31 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

32 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. Outros dois estudos3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
, apesar de não deixarem claro a temporalidade da dor, foram selecionados, pois essas informações puderam ser inferidas com grande precisão.

A caracterização dos estudos quanto ao objetivo, às intervenções aplicadas nos grupos (experimental e controle) e aos principais achados dos mesmos é apresentada na Figura 2.

Figura 2
Caracterização dos estudos quanto à intervenção aplicada, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 2018 (n=16)*n - Número de participantes; †B - Bexiga; ‡EVA - Escala Visual Analógica.

Em relação à qualidade metodológica dos ECR, todos relataram o método de geração da sequência aleatória e em apenas um estudo99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
esse processo não foi apropriado. Em outro estudo3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
não há informações suficientes para inferir essa informação. Somente em quatro ECR2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
-2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
) houve descrição de mascaramento e em apenas dois2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
este foi considerado apropriado. A perda de seguimento não foi descrita em apenas um ECR2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
.

Portanto, 6,25% (n=1) dos estudos99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
obtiveram pontuação um no escore de Jadad; 12,5% (n=2)2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
-3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
obtiveram pontuação dois; 62,5% (n=10)2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

32 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

33 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...

34 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
obtiveram pontuação três; 12,5% (n=2)2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
obtiveram pontuação quatro; e 6,25% (n=1)2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
obtiveram pontuação cinco.

Os desfechos estudados, as ferramentas de mensuração, o número de avaliações e intervalo entre elas estão descritos na Figura 3.

Figura 3
Desfechos avaliados, ferramentas de mensuração, número de avaliações e intervalo entre elas. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 2018. (n=16)

Os desfechos mais avaliados foram a intensidade da dor (100%; n=16)99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

23 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...

27 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

28 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...

29 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...

30 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

31 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

32 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

33 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...

34 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, seguida da incapacidade física (62,5%; n=10)99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...

34 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, da qualidade de vida (37,5%; n=6)2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

23 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e do limiar nociceptivo perante o estímulo mecânico, por meio de um algômetro (37,5%; n=6)99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
.

O número de avaliações variou de duas (linha de base e após o término do tratamento) a 18. Três estudos realizaram avaliações entre as sessões99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
-2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
; e 13 estudos realizaram avaliações de seguimento após o término do tratamento, que variou de dois dias a três meses99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

31 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

32 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

33 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...

34 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
(Figura 3).

As características do protocolo da intervenção foram baseadas nas recomendações do Revised Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA)1717 MacPherson H, Altman DG, Hammerschlag R, Youping L, Taixiang W, White A, et al. Revised Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA): Extending the CONSORT Statement. PLoS Med. [Internet]. 2010 [cited May 13, 2018];7(6):1-11. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2882429/pdf/pmed.1000261.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e nas classificações de ventosaterapia77 Aboushanab TS, AlSanad S. Cupping Therapy: An Overview From A Modern Medicine Perspective. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018]; S2005-2901(17):30204-2. Available from: https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2901(17)30204-2/pdf
https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2...
,1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
e encontram-se descritas na Figura 4.

Figura 4
Protocolo de intervenção. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 2018 (n=16)

A intervenção foi predominantemente aplicada por médicos (31,25%; n=5)2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...

27 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
; em seguida, por enfermeiros (18,75%; n=3)2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e farmacêuticos (6,25%; n=1)3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. E 25% dos estudos (n=4)99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...
,3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
relataram que a intervenção foi realizada por um terapeuta, sem especificar a área de formação.

Somente 18,75% dos estudos (n=3) apresentaram o tempo de experiência do profissional que realizou a intervenção, de três3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
a quatro anos3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
; 37,5% dos estudos (n=6)99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

23 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
apresentam apenas que a intervenção foi realizada por profissionais experientes ou treinados, mas não citaram o tempo de formação.

Dos 16 artigos selecionados para a revisão sistemática, 10 entraram para metanálise que investigou a eficácia da ventosaterapia sobre a intensidade da dor. Todos abordaram o desfecho em dois grupos de comparação (experimental e controle), em avaliações realizadas antes e imediatamente após o tratamento. Cinco estudos99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
não entraram porque não possuíam dados suficientes para essa análise e um estudo3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
fez avaliação apenas três meses após o termino do tratamento.

Os resultados da metanálise mostraram que a ventosaterapia foi mais eficaz em reduzir a dor, se comparada ao grupo-controle (Diferença absoluta entre médias: -1,59, [Intervalo de confiança à 95%: -2,07 a -1,10]; p=0.001), com heterogeneidade de moderada à alta (I2 = 67,7%, p = 0.001) (Figura 5).

Figura 5
Forest Plot do escore de intensidade da dor. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil, 2018 (I2‡=67,7%, Valor P = 0.001)

Discussão

A ventosaterapia demonstrou resultados positivos sobre a dor crônica nas costas em adultos, não apenas em variáveis comportamentais da dor, como também em parâmetros fisiológicos, na maioria dos ECR avaliados neste estudo, o que contribui para a consolidação da sua utilização no tratamento dessa condição clínica na população estudada.

Em relação à qualidade metodológica, a maioria dos estudos2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

32 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

33 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...

34 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
) obteve pontuação mediana (três), segundo a escala Jadad1919 Jadad AR, Moore RA, Carroll D, Jenkinson C, Reynolds DJ, Gavaghan DJ, et al. Assessing the Quality of Reports of Randomized Clinical Trials: Is Blinding Necessary? Control Clin Trials. [Internet]. 1996 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):1-12. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0197245695001344?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
. Essa pontuação pode ser justificada pela ausência de mascaramento dos ECR.

Nos estudos de ventosaterapia não é possível ocultar os métodos de avaliação e de intervenção2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, uma vez que as marcas deixadas pelos copos de ventosa são muitas vezes visíveis e podem persistir por vários dias, o que torna difícil realizar um processo de mascaramento2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. Apenas um estudo2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
conseguiu o mascaramento de forma apropriada; contudo, o mesmo se deu apenas em relação aos voluntários que receberam laserterapia, intervenção usada concomitante à ventosoterapia, em que a acupuntura laser sham foi realizada aplicando o mesmo procedimento em um dos grupos, mas sem energia. Em um segundo estudo2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, há descrição de que o mascaramento foi aplicado ao avaliador dos resultados; todavia, a aplicação dos copos de ventosas ocasiona marcas (equimoses, petéquias) e um dos desfechos avaliados foi o limiar de dor, por meio do algômetro; para esta avaliação, como a área deve estar despida, as marcas na pele inviabilizam esse tipo de mascaramento. Por fim, em um outro estudo2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, a maioria dos participantes do grupo minimal cupping (84%) foi capaz de identificar a alocação após quatro semanas, enquanto que no grupo cupping, 55% identificaram a alocação.

Em relação aos desfechos avaliados, predominou a intensidade da dor, que foi mensurada, em grande parte, por meio da Escala Visual Analógica (EVA)2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

23 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

28 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...

29 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
-3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e da Escala Numérica2626 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, seguida pela Escala de Dor e Incapacidade do Pescoço99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
, pelo Questionário de Dor de McGill, versão curta3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, e pela Escala de Intensidade da Dor Presente3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
.

Embora existam variações, a EVA normalmente consiste em pontuações de 0-10 ou 0-100, sendo a extrema esquerda descrita como nenhuma dor e a extrema direita como a pior dor possível; já a Escala Numérica possui uma graduação numérica de 0-10, 0-20 ou 0-100. Essas escalas podem ser classificadas como: sem dor (0), leve (1-3), moderada (4-6) e grave (7-10), e são frequentemente usadas em pacientes com dor musculoesquelética crônica3737 Salaffi F, Ciapetti A, Carotti M. Pain assessment strategies in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Reumatismo. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];64(4):216-29. Available from: http://reumatismo.org/index.php/reuma/article/view/reumatismo.2012.216/pdf
http://reumatismo.org/index.php/reuma/ar...
. Além disso, alguns pesquisadores3838 Puntillo K, Neighbor M, Nixon R. Accuracy of emergency nurses in assessment of patients pain. Pain Manag Nurs. [Internet]. 2003 [cited May 13, 2018];4(4):171-5. Available from: http://allnurses.com/pain-management-nursing/accuracy-of-emergency-59028.html
http://allnurses.com/pain-management-nur...

39 Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Farrar JT, Haythornthwaite JA, Jensen MP, Katz NP, et al. Core outcome measures for chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. Pain. [Internet]. 2005 [cited May 13, 2018];113:9-19. Available from: http://www.immpact.org/static/publications/Dworkin%20et%20al.,%202005.pdf
http://www.immpact.org/static/publicatio...
-4040 Breivik H, Borchgrevink PC, Allen SM, Rosseland LA, Romundstad L, Hals EK, et al. Assessment of pain. Br J Anaesth. [Internet]. 2008 [cited May 13, 2018]; 101(1):17-24. Available from: https://bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(17)34263-0/pdf
https://bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-...
têm apontado essas duas escalas como o padrão-ouro para avaliar a intensidade da dor, sendo estas os instrumentos mais utilizados quando se avaliam adultos, tanto na clínica quanto na pesquisa.

A incapacidade física foi o segundo desfecho mais abordado, sendo mensurada por meio do Neck Disability Index (NDI)2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
, do Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ)3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e da Escala de Dor e Incapacidade do Pescoço99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
. De fato, a gravidade e a cronicidade da dor nas costas estão associadas a graves limitações funcionais3737 Salaffi F, Ciapetti A, Carotti M. Pain assessment strategies in patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Reumatismo. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];64(4):216-29. Available from: http://reumatismo.org/index.php/reuma/article/view/reumatismo.2012.216/pdf
http://reumatismo.org/index.php/reuma/ar...
, que implicam em limitações nas atividades de vida diária4141 Cunha LL, Mayrink WC. Influence of chronic pain in the quality of life of the elderly. Rev Dor. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12(2):120-4. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rdor/v12n2/v12n2a08.pdf
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rdor/v12n2/v12n...
.

Além disso, pacientes com doenças crônicas, que necessitam de tratamento contínuo por longo período, apresentam importantes mudanças na qualidade de vida4242 Castro MMC, Daltro C, Kraychete DC, Lopes J. The cognitive behavioral therapy causes an improvement in quality of life in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Arq Neuro-psiquiatr. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];70(11):864-8. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/anp/v70n11/a08v70n11.pdf
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/anp/v70n11/a08v...
, sendo outro importante desfecho a ser avaliado, como ocorreu em seis estudos, por meio do Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36)2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

23 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
.

Por fim, o parâmetro fisiológico mais avaliado nos estudos foi o limiar nociceptivo perante o estímulo mecânico, por meio de um algômetro de pressão99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...

24 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

25 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. Sabe-se que os indivíduos que possuem dor na coluna vertebral apresentam maior sensibilidade nociceptiva se comparados às pessoas saudáveis4343 Farasyn A, Lassat B. Cross friction algometry (CFA): Comparison of pressure pain thresholds between patients with chronic non-specific low back pain and healthy subjects. J Bodyw Mov Ther. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];20(2):224-34. Available from: https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.com/article/S1360-8592(15)00259-4/pdf
https://www.bodyworkmovementtherapies.co...
. Contudo, esta ainda é considerável uma variável subjetiva, uma vez que é o paciente que determina o seu limiar de dor. De fato, quando o processo de avaliação está mais relacionado aos sintomas, como é o caso dos fenômenos subjetivos, em especial a dor, do que aos resultados físicos ou laboratoriais, a autoavaliação é considerada o indicador mais confiável da existência da dor4444 National Institutes of Health. Consensus Development Conference Statement. [Internet]. The Integrated Approach to the Management of Pain. May 19-21, 1986 [cited May 13, 2018]. Available from: http://consensus.nih.gov/1986/1986PainManagement055html.htm
http://consensus.nih.gov/1986/1986PainMa...
. Assim, as informações necessárias para proceder a sua avaliação têm origem no relato do indivíduo4545 Sousa FAEF, Pereira LV, Cardoso R, Hortense P. Multidimensional pain evaluation scale. (EMADOR). Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem. [Internet]. 2010 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):1-9. Available from: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v18n1/pt_02.pdf
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rlae/v18n1/pt_0...
, que constitui a fonte primária da avaliação.

A análise sistematizada dos métodos de aplicação da ventosoterapia evidenciou que não há uma padronização no protocolo de tratamento para dor crônica nas costas. No entanto, há esforços recentes para uniformizar o procedimento de ventosaterapia em geral4646 Nielsen A, Kligler B, Koll BS. Safety protocols for gua sha (press-stroking) and baguan (cupping). Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];20(5):340-4. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229912000829?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
; porém, especificamente para a dor crônica nas costas, ainda não estão estabelecidos o tipo de técnica mais adequada, a duração do tratamento, o número de sessões, os dispositivos, o tempo de aplicação, o método e a força de sucção e os pontos de aplicação.

Pode-se observar, todavia, que a técnica mais aplicada foi o dry cupping, especificamente para as regiões lombar2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

31 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e cervical99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
. Essa modalidade permite a estimulação dos acupontos da mesma forma que as agulhas de acupuntura4747 Tham LM, Lee HP, Lu C. Cupping: From a biomechanical perspective. J Biomech. [Internet]. 2006 [cited May 13, 2018];39(12):2183-93. Available from: https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(05)00322-2/pdf
https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9...
. Pesquisadores1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
apontam que a laceração da pele e dos vasos capilares, promovida pelo wet cupping, pode atuar como mais um estímulo nociceptivo que ativa as vias descendentes inibitórias de controle da dor1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
, ajudando no tratamento das condições musculoesqueléticas crônicas3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. Contudo, risco de infecção, ataques vasovagais e cicatrizes são desvantagens desse método1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
. Ainda, comparado ao cupping massage, autores4747 Tham LM, Lee HP, Lu C. Cupping: From a biomechanical perspective. J Biomech. [Internet]. 2006 [cited May 13, 2018];39(12):2183-93. Available from: https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(05)00322-2/pdf
https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9...
destacam que o dry cupping possui maior efeito analgésico, uma vez que o uso de lubrificantes pode diminuir a fricção entre a borda do copo e a pele, fato corroborado por alguns autores2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, que utilizaram óleo de arnica para a realização do cupping massage.

Apesar da variabilidade na forma de aplicação da intervenção, foi possível identificar que, em média, a ventosateraia foi aplicada em 5 sessões, com retenção dos copos na pele em torno de 8 minutos, e intervalo de três a quatro dias entre as aplicações, aproximadamente. Segundo alguns pesquisadores2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, são necessárias, ao menos, cinco sessões para demonstrar quaisquer efeitos significativos do tratamento de ventosaterapia, além de garantir a viabilidade para a realização do ECR. Além disso, autores4747 Tham LM, Lee HP, Lu C. Cupping: From a biomechanical perspective. J Biomech. [Internet]. 2006 [cited May 13, 2018];39(12):2183-93. Available from: https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(05)00322-2/pdf
https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9...
recomendam que os copos devem ser deixados sobre a pele entre 5 e 10 minutos ou mais, o que culmina no aparecimento de marcas residuais, após o tratamento, em decorrência da ruptura de pequenos vasos sanguíneos, que são indolores e desaparecem entre 1 a 10 dias1212 Markowski A, Sanford S, Pikowski J, Fauvell D, Cimino D, Caplan S. A Pilot Study Analyzing the Effects of Chinese Cupping as an Adjunct Treatment for Patients with Subacute Low Back Pain on Relieving Pain, Improving Range of Motion, and Improving Function. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];20(2):113-7. Available from: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2014.5302.abstract
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.10...
. Dessa forma, é necessário o intervalo entre as sessões a fim de permitir o reestabelecimento dos tecidos cutâneo e subcutâneo.

Em relação aos copos de aplicação, os descartáveis são preferíveis ou um processo de esterilização ou desinfecção de alto nível é exigido antes da reutilização, já que a pressão exercida pode causar extravasamento de sangue e fluidos na pele4646 Nielsen A, Kligler B, Koll BS. Safety protocols for gua sha (press-stroking) and baguan (cupping). Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];20(5):340-4. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229912000829?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
. Hoje em dia, a ventosaterapia é cada vez mais realizada com copos de plástico4747 Tham LM, Lee HP, Lu C. Cupping: From a biomechanical perspective. J Biomech. [Internet]. 2006 [cited May 13, 2018];39(12):2183-93. Available from: https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(05)00322-2/pdf
https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9...
. Já o tamanho do copo varia de acordo com o local de aplicação, mas geralmente é aplicado em locais com musculatura abundante, como as costas4848 Yoo, S.S., Tausk, F., 2004. Cupping: east meets west. Int J Dermatol. [Internet]. 2004 [cited May 13, 2018];43(9):664-5. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2004.02224.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/...
.

Referente ao método de sucção para criar a pressão negativa, predominou o uso do fogo99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, seguido pelo bombeamento manual2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...

35 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
e automático2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2626 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
,3333 Farhadi K, Schwebel DC, Saeb M, Choubsaz M, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi A. The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low back pain in Iran: a randomized controlledtrial. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2009 [cited May 13, 2018];17(1):9-15. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229908000630?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
. A sucção com fogo é o método tradicional utilizado na China, contudo há risco de queimaduras1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
. Já o vácuo manual é criado ao se utilizar uma bomba de sucção, esse método permite que a microcirculação aumente mais eficazmente em comparação ao fogo1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
. Por fim, o bombeamento automático é criado utilizando uma bomba de sucção elétrica, que permite ajustar e medir a pressão negativa dentro do copo, sendo o método mais adequado para pesquisas científicas1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
.

Apenas três estudos2222 Teut M, Ullmann A, Ortiz M, Rotter G, Binting S, Cree M, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in chronic low back pain - a randomized three-armed controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2018 [cited May 13, 2018];18(1):115. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879872/pdf/12906_2018_Article_2187.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2626 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
,2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
relataram a força de sucção utilizada, sendo esta importante de ser padronizada nos protocolos de aplicação. A sucção pode ser leve (100 e 300 milibar / um ou dois bombeamentos manuais), média (300 e 500 milibar / três ou quatro bombeamentos manuais), forte (acima de 500 milibar / cinco ou mais bombeamentos manuais) ou pulsátil (a pressão dentro dos copos é variável, entre 100 e 200 milibar a cada 2 segundos)4747 Tham LM, Lee HP, Lu C. Cupping: From a biomechanical perspective. J Biomech. [Internet]. 2006 [cited May 13, 2018];39(12):2183-93. Available from: https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(05)00322-2/pdf
https://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9...
,4949 Teut M, Kaiser S, Ortiz M, Roll S, Binting S, Willich SN, et al. Pulsatile dry cupping in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee - a randomized controlled exploratory trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];12(184):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3527288/pdf/1472-6882-12-184.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. Geralmente, a sucção média é indicada para condições dolorosas do sistema musculoesquelético1818 Al-Bedah AM, Aboushanab TS, Alqaed MS, Qureshi NA, Suhaibani I, Ibrahim G, et al. Classification of Cupping Therapy: A Tool for Modernization and Standardization. JOCAMR. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];1(1):1-10. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306240082_Classification_of_Cupping_Therapy_A_Tool_for_Modernization_and_Standardization
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...
.

Também não houve padronização quanto aos pontos de aplicação da ventosaterapia. Apesar disso, prevaleceu a aplicação em acupontos específicos na região cervical, principalmente dos meridianos de bexiga, vesícula biliar e intestino delgado2929 Chi LM, Lin LM, Chen CL, Wang SF, Lai HL, Peng TC. The Effectiveness of Cupping Therapy on Relieving Chronic Neck and Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2016 [cited May 13, 2018];2016:1-7. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2016/7358918/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
, e na região lombar no meridiano de bexiga3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

31 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3535 Kim JI, Kim TH, Lee MS, Kang JW, Kim KH, Choi JY, et al. Evaluation of wet-cupping therapy for persistent non-specific low back pain: a randomised, waiting-list controlled, open-label, parallel-group pilot trial. Trials. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];12:146. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3141528/pdf/1745-6215-12-146.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3636 AlBedah A, Khalil M, Elolemy A, Hussein AA, AlQaed M, Al Mudaiheem A, et al. The Use of Wet Cupping for Persistent Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Altern Complement Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];21(8):504-8. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522952/pdf/acm.2015.0065.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, seguidos de pontos sensíveis99 Emerich M, Braeunig M, Clement HW, Lüdtke R, Huber R. Mode of action of cupping--local metabolism and pain thresholds in neck pain patients and healthy subjects. Complement Ther Med. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];22(1):148-58. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229913002112?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...
-2727 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, denominados Ashi pela MTC ou pontos gatilho pela medicina ocidental.

Os meridianos são passagens para o fluxo de “qi” (energia vital) e “xue” (sangue), os dois fluidos corporais básicos da MTC, que se espalham por toda a superfície corporal, integrando o interior com o exterior do corpo e conectando os órgãos internos, as articulações e as extremidades, transformando o corpo inteiro em um órgão único5050 Wang GJ, Ayati MH, Zhang WB. Meridian studies in China: a systematic review. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. [Internet]. 2010 [cited May 13, 2018];3(1):1-9. Available from: https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2901(10)60001-5/pdf
https://www.jams-kpi.com/article/S2005-2...
. Parte dos meridianos de bexiga, intestino delgado e vesícula biliar passam pela região dorsal. Os pontos de acupuntura estão localizados nos meridianos; além de ação local, também desempenham ação sistêmica e de reestabelecimento do equilíbrio energético do corpo, ao ajustar a função dos órgãos, manter a homeostase e tratar a doença5151 Li F, He T, Xu Q, Lin LT, Li H, Liu Y, et al. What is the Acupoint? A preliminary review of Acupoints. Pain Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];16(10):1905-15. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/article/16/10/1905/2460295
https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/ar...
, por isso a vantagem em utilizá-los.

Já os pontos gatilho ou Ashi são pontos localizados e de alta irritabilidade, que são sensíveis à pressão digital e podem desencadear dor local e referida5252 International Association for the Study of Pain [Internet]. Global year against musculoskeletal pain. October 2009 - October 2010. Myofascial Pain. 2010 [cited May 13, 2018]. Available from: http://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/ContentFolders/GlobalYearAgainstPain2/MusculoskeletalPainFactSheets/MyofascialPain_Final.pdf
http://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/C...
. Podem ser decorrentes de sobrecarga dinâmica, como traumatismo ou excesso de uso, ou sobrecarga estática, por exemplo, as sobrecargas posturais, ocorridas durante as atividades de vida diária e ocupacionais5353 Dommerholt J. Dry needling - peripheral and central considerations. Pain Med. [Internet]. 2015 [cited May 13, 2018];16(10):1905-15. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3201653/pdf/jmt-19-04-223.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, além de tensão emocional. Trabalhar sobre esses pontos também pode ser uma forma de aliviar a dor local5454 Zhao H. Clinical observation on therapeutic effect of cupping combined with acupuncture stimulation at trigger points for lumbar myofascial pain syndrome. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];39(4):324-8. Available from: https://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10471979&AN=123067289&h=KVyuzUBFiXE6HntiPqHImXntz1iicxcKNwGrlQq0AMeIF2V6vP7ve956sIg8M0zmRdGAVvtrgKrGNtqZ4USF4g%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d10471979%26AN%3d123067289
https://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?dir...
.

Após a aplicação da ventosaterapia, tanto os acupontos dos meridianos das regiões acometidas quanto os pontos gatilho ou Ashi podem apresentar-se com hematomas, eritema e/ou equimoses. Segundo a MTC, esses sinais representam estagnação de “qi” e/ou “xue” e podem auxiliar o terapeuta a identificar os distúrbios existentes no organismo.

Por fim, por meio da metanálise, foi possível constatar redução significativa do escore de intensidade da dor, em pessoas adultas com dor crônica nas costas, mediante uso da ventosaterapia (p=0.001). Comparada com um grupo-controle (cuidado habitual / outra intervenção / lista de espera), essa modalidade possui vantagens em aliviar a dor, como é possível verificar na Figura 5.

Apenas dois estudos2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
não representaram diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos sobre o benefício ou malefício da intervenção (Figura 5). De fato, o primeiro estudo2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
apontou que a ventosaterapia tem o mesmo efeito que outra intervenção (relaxamento muscular progressivo) na redução da dor cervical crônica não específica; apesar disso, a ventosaterapia foi melhor do que o relaxamento em melhorar o bem-estar e diminuir a sensibilidade à dor por pressão. Os autores2424 Lauche R, Materdey S, Cramer H, Haller H, Stange R, Dobos G, et al. Effectiveness of home- based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain - a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. [Internet]. 2013 [cited May 13, 2018];8(6):1-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676414/pdf/pone.0065378.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
justificam esse resultado, dentre outras limitações, pelo fato de a ventosaterapia ter sido realizada por parentes ou amigos dos pacientes em casa. Já no segundo estudo3030 Lin ML, Wu HC, Hsieh YH, Su CT, Shih YS, Lin CW, et al. Evaluation of the effect of laser acupuncture and cupping with ryodoraku and visual analog scaleon low back pain. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012; [cited May 13, 2018]2012:1-7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482015/pdf/ECAM2012-521612.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
, apesar de ter encontrado resultado positivo sobre a intensidade da dor, não se obteve resultado na metanálise. Acredita-se que isso pode ter acontecido pelo fato de ambos os grupos terem recebido a intervenção de ventosaterapia (soft cupping) e ambos obtiveram resultados positivos.

Nos demais estudos2323 Saha FJ, Schumann S, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rolke R, et al. The Effects of Cupping Massage in Patients with Chronic Neck Pain - A Randomised Controlled Trial. Complement Med Res. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];24(1):26-32. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/454872
https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/45487...
,2525 Lauche R, Cramer H, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, et al. The effect of traditional cupping on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: a randomised controlled pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];2012:1-10. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235710/pdf/ECAM2012-429718.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

26 Cramer H, Lauche R, Hohmann C, Choi KE, Rampp T, Musial F, et al. Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain. Forsch Komplementmed. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/335294
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/...

27 Lauche R, Cramer H, Choi KE, Rampp T, Saha FJ, Dobos GJ, et al. The influence of a series of five dry cupping treatments on pain and mechanical thresholds in patients with chronic non-specific neck pain-a randomised controlled pilot study. BMC Complement Altern Med. [Internet]. 2011 [cited May 13, 2018];18(6):327-34. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3224248/pdf/1472-6882-11-63.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-2828 Lin ML, Wu JH, Lin CW, Su CT, Wu HC, Shih YS, et al. Clinical Effects of Laser Acupuncture plus Chinese Cupping on the Pain and Plasma Cortisol Levels in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];2017:1-8. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2017/3140403/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/20...
,3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
-3232 Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemmaghami M, Yazdanpanahi Z, Zare N, Azizi A, Mohagheghzadeh A. The Effect Dry Cupping Therapy at Acupoint BL23 on the Intensity of Postpartum Low Back Painin Primiparous Women Based on Two Types of Questionnaires, 2012; A Randomized ClinicalTrial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. [Internet]. 2014 [cited May 13, 2018];2(2):112-20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4201191/pdf/ijcbnm-2-112.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,3434 Kim TH, Kang JW, Kim KH, Lee MH, Kim JE, Kim JH, et al. Cupping for treating neck pain in video display terminal (VDT) users: a randomized controlled pilot trial. J Occup Health. [Internet]. 2012 [cited May 13, 2018];54(6):416-26. Available from: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/54/6/54_12-0133-OA/_pdf/-char/en
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh...
, a intervenção reduziu a probabilidade do desfecho, sendo o estudo com maior número amostral3131 Yazdanpanahi Z, Ghaemmaghami M, Akbarzadeh M, Zare N, Azisi A. Comparison of the Effects of Dry Cupping and Acupressure at Acupuncture Point (BL23) on the Women with Postpartum Low Back Pain (PLBP) Based on Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaires in Iran: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Fam Reprod Health. [Internet]. 2017 [cited May 13, 2018];11(2):82-9. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5742668/pdf/JFRH-11-82.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
o que mais contribuiu para isso (peso de 15,68% na metanálise) (Figura 5). De fato, todos esses estudos relataram resultados promissores da intervenção sobre a intensidade da dor.

Contudo, os resultados da efetividade da ventosaterapia ainda precisam ser confirmados por análises de subgrupos, com base nos diferentes tipos de técnicas de aplicação e de grupos-controle. Além disso, é importante realizar metarregressão para encontrar a fonte de heterogeneidade dos ECR.

De uma forma em geral, os resultados mostraram variação substancial na aplicação da ventosaterapia, especialmente em relação ao tipo de técnica, e também as diferenças de grupo-controle, o que inviabilizou a realização de análise de subgrupo ou metarregressão, respectivamente, devido ao pequeno número de estudos com cada uma dessas especificações.

Conclusão

A ventosaterapia é um método promissor para o tratamento e controle da dor crônica nas costas em adultos, uma vez que diminui significativamente os escores de intensidade da dor em relação a um grupo-controle. Contudo, a alta heterogeneidade e a qualidade metodológica mediana dos ECR limitaram os achados.

Apesar disso, um protocolo pode ser estabelecido para essa condição clínica: aplicação da técnica de dry cupping em 5 sessões, com retenção dos copos descartáveis ou de plástico na pele em torno de 8 minutos, bombeamento automático, preferencialmente, ou manual, com força de sucção média, e intervalo de três a sete dias entre as aplicações. Preferível optar por acupontos da região dorsal, principalmente os do meridiano de bexiga para região lombar, e pelos meridianos de bexiga, vesícula biliar e intestino delgado para as regiões cervical e torácica, além de pontos Ashi ou gatilho. Esse protocolo necessita de validação em estudos futuros. E os principais desfechos avaliados para essa condição clínica foram a intensidade da dor, a incapacidade física, a qualidade de vida e o limiar nociceptivo perante o estímulo mecânico (pressão).

Referências

Datas de Publicação

  • Publicação nesta coleção
    2018

Histórico

  • Recebido
    11 Jul 2018
  • Aceito
    17 Set 2018
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