Cupping therapy: Can it relieve fibromyalgia pain?

There's no conclusive evidence that cupping therapy relieves fibromyalgia pain. But anecdotal evidence suggests a benefit.

Cupping therapy is typically practiced by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. The theory behind cupping is that it moves or stimulates your body's natural energy — also called qi.

Basically, cupping involves heating the air inside a glass cup, which removes some of the air from the cup. The cup is then quickly placed on the skin and the resulting vacuum pulls the skin part of the way into the cup. The cup may be left in place for several minutes and then removed, leaving behind a bright red, circular welt. Although it sounds painful, it's not.

Many articles have been published on cupping. But many of these are case reports or anecdotes published in Chinese medical journals — and not always available in English. There have been no peer-reviewed clinical trials specifically evaluating cupping as a treatment for painful conditions. Thus, although cupping has been a part of Chinese healing traditions for at least 3,000 years, available research hasn't yet documented its effectiveness.