European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Manual therapy/ practices (dry cupping, wet cupping, leech therapy, venesection or phlebotomy) are one of the three pillars of Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) and has been used for thousands of years. Various studies have shown that these methods are effective in treating or reducing the symptoms of many diseases, including several pulmonary diseases and various types of pain, diseases of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, skin diseases, and so on. In the present review, we have dealt with the role of manual therapy on common lung diseases (Asthma, Cough, Hemoptysis, Chest pain and pleural pain, Pneumonia, Pleurisy) by reviewing (TPM) books and international and national scientific studies conducted in this area. Method: To investigate the role of manual therapy in lung diseases, traditional medicine books, and databases (PubMed, Scopus, ISI), and a database of Persian articles (SID) in this field were searched. Initially, 30 books and 348 international and national records (Appendix 1) were found and ultimately 20 books (Appendix 2) and 13 articles (Appendix 3) were included for our study. Result: In traditional medicine references, the management for all kinds of respiratory ailments with their specific methods is explained (Appendix 4). However, studies in this field have only examined the effect of cupping on asthma, pneumonia, and cough. Our review article has collected and presented some of the available resources on the use of manual therapy/ practices alone or in combination with other therapies in the treatment of common lung diseases such as Asthma, cough, and pneumonia. Conclusion: The results of this systematic study indicate that different methods of blood sampling in traditional medicine have been repeatedly recommended for various lung diseases, especially asthma, pneumonia, and cough.