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LIFE> Health
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Therapy of the future
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-01 09:40 Sembawa says that there was an ancient belief that cupping strengthened memory and that some Muslim scholars, including Avicenna and Ahmad Ben Hanbal, had used cupping to help remember forgotten information. The dean of the faculty of medicine in King Abdulaziz University Adnan al-Mazroue echoes Sembawa's words. He says that cupping was an essential part of ancient Arab medicine "No one can deny its several benefits as part of Eastern integrated medicine, despite the lack of scientific experiments and scientifically proven facts," says al-Mazroue, who also hailed the role of King Abdulaziz University in carrying out scientific research on cupping to establish references in this domain. Amin Youssef, a gynaecologist, says that he underwent physiotherapy for his left shoulder. Finally, his pain was relieved when he was treated with cupping. Youssef argues that cupping is now used in the treatment of gymnasts in the United States and many European countries as it has proved effective in the treatment of ruptured muscles, ligaments and headaches. Although pharmaceutical companies feared that cupping would affect their sales adversely, particularly of sedatives, its high cost makes it inaccessible. It costs between 400 and 500 riyals ($107-133) in Riyadh, and between 150 and 300 in west Hejaz, where it is more popular. Some believe that the medical debate on the use of acupuncture and cupping weighs in favor of cupping as the effect appears more rapid. Treatment using cupping takes about 30 minutes in most cases, while acupuncture treatment takes between seven and 10 days to carry out seven sessions (each session takes 40 minutes).
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