Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2010 May;74(5):945-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.11.037. Epub 2009 Dec 23.

Can traditional "cupping" treatment cause a stroke?

Stavia B Blunt  1 , Heow Pueh Lee
Affiliations
Case Reports

Can traditional "cupping" treatment cause a stroke?

Stavia B Blunt et al. Med Hypotheses. 2010 May.

Abstract

The case study of a patient who developed haemorrhagic stroke after 'cupping' to the cervical area is presented. We consider the various manners in which cupping might induce haemorrhagic or ischemic stroke with particular reference to the relevant pathologies of the major cervical arteries. The other possible causes due to the induced cupping stresses are also examined using a computer based simulation study. Cupping of the cervical area may cause a haemorrhagic stroke by an acute rise in blood pressure. The tensile radial stresses generated by cupping may potentially facilitate the development of a dissection in the presence of an intimal tear. Moreover, the possible presence of micro-inclusions can intensify the local stress concentration for a thin cap.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources