Experimental Study on the Pressure Characteristics in the Cupping Therapy

부항요법(附缸療法)의 압력특성에 관한 실험적 연구

Objectives : Cupping therapy is a stimulation therapy similar to acupuncture and moxibustion with effects that differ depending on the degree of stimulus. To make the strength of the skin objective in cupping therapy for this study, we measured negative pressure in the cupping jar and calculated the expansion rate of the skin. Subjects and Methods : In this study, we experimented with cupping therapy jars made for sale and used in clinics. We studied the pressure in the jars and the changes on the skin surface by measuring properties. We used commercial jars of four different volumes and diameters and tried to discover the properties on the size of the jar. Results : The results of experiment with the cupping therapy are as follows: 1. The lowest pressure in a jar was measured at $-600{\sim}610mmHg$, and the number of operating of vacuum pump for reaching lowest pressure was increased recording where the volume of the jar would be big, but the lowest pressure was not increased recording where the size of that would be big. 2. As the vacuum pump continued to operate, the pressure gradient in the jar got smaller which shows that the expansion rate of the skin was not linear. The pressure gradient shows different operational numbers on the vacuum pump near 0mmHg/operation unrelated to jar volume. 3. When negative pressure worked on the jar, air in the jar decreased. The percentage of air gradually reduced as the negative pressure acted in the jar. For example, the percentage of skin was 37-66% when the negative pressure, reatched -500mmHg. According to out results, different test areas generate different percentages of air in the jar, presumably related to skin elasticity. This phenomenon was most pronounced with the smallest jars. 4. At -500mmHg, the expansion rate of the skin was 1.57-1.9 on the abdomen, and $1.52{\sim}1.68$ on the back. The expansion rate of the skin appeared greater when the jar was relatively small, and it appeared smaller when the jar volume was relatively large relatively.