A brief illustration of the official national standards for the safe use of cupping therapy (Hijama) in Saudi Arabia

Tamer Aboushanab; Saud AlSanad

doi:10.1016/j.joim.2018.07.006

A brief illustration of the official national standards for the safe use of cupping therapy (Hijama) in Saudi Arabia

J Integr Med. 2018 Sep;16(5):297-298. doi: 10.1016/j.joim.2018.07.006. Epub 2018 Jul 31.

Authors

Tamer Aboushanab¹, Saud AlSanad²

Affiliations

¹ National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Riyadh 11662, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: t.shaban@nccam.gov.sa.
² National Center for Complementary Medicine Ministry of Health, Riyadh 11662, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, Al Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh 11662, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 30100269
DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2018.07.006

Abstract

Cupping therapy (Hijama in Arabic) is a popular traditional treatment especially in Asia, the Middle East and Central Europe. Traditionally, cupping therapy has been one of the most used practices in Saudi Arabia. Standardization of the practice of cupping therapy is a very important step to eliminate or reduce any adverse events related to cupping. This article gives a brief illustration and highlights the important points of the first accredited Saudi Arabian standards for the safe use of cupping equipment and its applications.

Keywords: Cupping; Equipment; Hijama; Safety; Standards.

MeSH terms

Equipment Safety / standards
Government Regulation*
Humans
Medicine, Traditional / instrumentation
Medicine, Traditional / methods*
Medicine, Traditional / standards
Safety / standards*
Saudi Arabia