Fig 1.
Flowchart of the experimental procedure.
Fig 2.
Vacuum applications during dry cupping.
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Fig 3.
Photographs of hardware (a) a pressure sensor, (b) drawing of the field of view of the distance sensor, (c) suggested solution for the distance sensor cover, (d) photograph of the main device with the cover removed, and (e) a screen capture of the software graphical user interface.
Table 1.
Effect of 15-minute cupping on trapezius soft tissue in the myofascial pain group and the normal group.
Fig 4.
Effect of 15-minute cupping on trapezius soft tissue in the myofascial pain group and normal group.
(a) The pressure attenuation in the cup and (c) the soft tissue compliance are statistically different in the two groups (p = 0.017 and p = 0.050); (b) however, there is no significant difference between the two groups in term of soft tissue lifting (p = 0.183).
Fig 5.
Effect of 4-week cupping therapy on soft tissue of athletes with myofascial pain syndrome.
(b) The height of soft tissue pull-up during cupping at week 4 is significantly greater than that at week 1 (p = 0.027); however, there is no statistical difference between (a) pressure attenuation in the cup and (c) compliance of soft tissue at week 1 and 4.
Table 2.
Effect of 4-week cupping therapy on trapezius soft tissue in the myofascial pain group and the normal group.
Table 3.
Comparison of upper extremity function between the myofascial pain group and the normal group after cupping for 4 weeks.