Impact of wet and dry cupping therapy on endurance, perceived wellness, and exertion in recreational male runners

Abstract

Background: Cupping therapy (CT), an ancient practice revived in modern sports medicine, offers potential benefits for athlete recovery and performance. Distinctions between wet CT (WCT) and dry CT (DCT) in sports science focus on their effects on recovery metrics, particularly how they influence sleep quality, perceived wellness, and athletic performance. Despite anecdotal evidence of its efficacy, rigorous comparative studies are scarce.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluates and compare the effects of WCT and DCT on endurance, perceived wellness, exertion levels, and sleep quality among young, active males, addressing the gap in the literature regarding CT's efficacy in sports performance and recovery.

Methods: Thirty- two amateur runners were randomly divided into two groups: one followed WCT sessions and the other followed DCT sessions. The study assessed the interventions' impacts on endurance performance (Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test), sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and perceived exertion (Borg CR10 Scale). Heart rate was measured using a Polar H10 sensor to gauge physiological responses during physical tests.

Results: Significant improvements were observed in the WCT group for sleep latency (% change ​= ​−82.31%; interaction group ​× ​time p ​= ​0.006; Cohen's d ​= ​0.74) and sleep disturbance (% change ​= ​−68.70%; interaction group ​× ​time p ​< ​0.001; Cohen's d ​= ​1.09), suggesting enhanced sleep quality (global score; % change ​= ​−52.81; interaction group ​× ​time p ​= ​0.004; Cohen's d ​= ​0.77). However, no significant differences were found in direct performance metrics (distance, maximal heart rate, maximal oxygen uptake) between WCT and DCT groups. These findings highlight WCT's potential as a recovery aid, particularly through improved sleep, without directly influencing endurance performance outcomes.

Conclusion: WCT may serve as an effective ergogenic aid for athletes by potentially improving sleep quality and reducing perceived exertion, thus contributing indirectly to performance through enhanced recovery.

Keywords

Alternative medicine / Athletic recovery / Endurance / Fatigue / Musculoskeletal pain / Performance optimization / Sleep enhancement / Sports medicine

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Ismail Dergaa: Conceptualization. Hatem Ghouili: Conceptualization. Cain C.T. Clark: Writing - review & editing. Morteza Taheri: Writing - review & editing. Mohamed Saifeddin Fessi: Conceptualization. Nizar Souissi: Writing - review & editing. Noomen Guelmami: Writing - review & editing. Mohamed Ben Aissa: Writing - review & editing. Helmi Ben Saad: Writing - review & editing. Katja Weiss: Writing - review & editing. Beat Knechtle: Writing - review & editing. Lamia Ben Ezzeddine: Writing - review & editing.

Ethical approval statement

The study was designed according to the guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration for conducting human experimentation and was approved by the ethical committee of the Farhat HACHED Hospital, Sousse, Tunisia (Approval N°: FH/20200411). Each participant was informed of the purpose, procedure, risks, and study details and consequently signed an informed consent form.

Availability of data and materials

The data related to this manuscript is available from the first author upon reasonable request.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of competing interest

Beat Knechtle is an Editorial Board Members for Sports Medicine and Health Science and were not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. Otherwise, the authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgment

In preparing this paper, the authors used ChatGPT model 4 on January 13, 2024, to revise some passages of the manuscript, to double-check for any grammar mistakes or improve academic English only.52, 53 After using this tool, the authors have reviewed and edited the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the content of the publication.

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