COMPARING THE EFFECT OF DRY CUPPING TO THE MANUAL THERAPY FOR PLANTAR FASCIITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to investigate how dry cupping impacts the pain and functionality of individuals suffering from plantar fasciitis. Subjects and Methods: Thirty subjects (age 20 to 40 years old, 19 females and 11 males), randomly assigned into the two groups (Manual therapy and dry cupping with manual therapy groups), participated in this study. The study was conducted using a randomized controlled trial design. Treatments were provided to the subjects thrice a week for 3 weeks. Outcome measurements included the Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS), the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM), the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS). Results: The data showed that both manual therapy and dry cupping with manual therapy were effective in reducing pain and improving function in the group studied. Clinical outcomes at baseline and 3 weeks were compared in both groups utilizing Paired Sample t-test. The results suggest that for all the outcomes – VAS (MT = 2.13; DC+MT = 2.80), FAAM (MT = -13.93; DC+MT = -17.40), and LEFS (MT = -15.93; DC+MT = -17.87), the difference was statistically significant across both the groups (p < 0.05). (MT = Manual therapy, DC = Dry cupping). There was no significant difference between the dry cupping therapy and dry cupping with manual therapy groups outcome measurements when assessed by independent t- test. Conclusion: These results support that dry cupping therapy combined with traditional manual therapy could reduce pain and increase function in the population tested as compared to treating the patient with manual therapy only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]