Cupping therapy history goes far, but it is not known exactly how and who started cupping for the first time, but it is said that cupping is as old as man himself.
and some claim that the father of humans, Adam, peace be upon him, was the first to know cupping, and from the recorded history that reaches us.
we can say that the history of cupping It extends to more than five thousand years, practiced by the people of the East and the people of the West, and it was transmitted from one generation to another,
as it was one of the most important therapeutic means for many civilizations of the world. Many diseases, and in the past, they used many means such as metal cups, ox horns and bamboo trees for this purpose,
Cupping therapy history
1- Cupping at the Pharaohs (3200) BC.
It is said that the first to use cupping in treatment were the pharaohs, and this was evident in the drawings of the tomb (Tutankhamun) as well as the inscriptions in the temple (Kom Ombo), which was the largest hospital of that era, and also found in the catacombs of the pharaohs metal and other cups Of the bamboo trees, in addition to the animal horns to suck blood through the mouth.
The Egyptians also recorded the first use of glass cups from which the air was emptied by burning a piece of cotton inside.
and it is believed that cupping moved from the Pharaohs to (the Mennonin) The inhabitants of the island of Crete and also to the Sumerians who conducted it according to special rituals in their baths and temples.
2- Cupping in China (4000) BC.
In 1973 AD, a medical book made of silk was discovered in the tomb of the royal family (Han) in which Cupping therapy was described for tuberculosis, as mentioned in the book (The Yellow Emperor of the Interior diseases).
The age of this book is 4 thousand years. This ancient volume describes the process of cupping and details the emptying and removal of skin ulcers and its name (the horn method) in relation to the animal's horn.
Cupping. It was developed and expanded by a physician (Ru Hu Fang), who wrote the book Types of Medicinal Cups. And he put in it a detailed description of the methods of cupping and their conditions associated with joint pain and diseases resulting from cold, and he was the first to use glass (cups from fire) as is the case with the Pharaohs.
3- Cupping in India (3000) BC.
Cupping has been known for a long time in the Indian subcontinent. The different methods of cupping tools are described in the book (Ayurbda) which was written in the ancient Sanskrit language.
This reference is one of the oldest books in the history of Indian medicine, and Dr. Sakarta is one of the greatest scholars of India (100 BC).
He is the one to whom the first plastic surgeries are attributed, and he considered cupping (Sahreta) one of the most important treatments for blood diseases.
4- Cupping therapy according to the Greeks.
The common belief among the Greeks was that the disease occurs as a result of the entry of evil spirits into the body, and therefore these spirits must be removed and exited, either by the process of turbation (making a hole in the skull) or by the process of cupping.
but cupping developed later, to be applied according to the theory of mixtures and moods that It was very popular in that era and the times that followed.
cupping therapeutic , was added to the processes of phlebotomy and cauterization, so that the famous doctor (Galenius) excelled in this therapeutic art, but (Hippocrates) detailed the theory of balance between body fluids.
- blood, phlegm (spit)
- gallbladder
- black bile sap
but Hippocrates preferred and excelled in phlebotomy more than cupping, and the famous doctor (Galen) followed his path.
5- Cupping among the Romans
The Romans were interested in cupping therapy, and there were (900) public baths throughout the empire,
Where the client used to get rid of toxic waste and excess blood in his body after the process of bathing.
6- Cupping in Europe
In Europe before the Renaissance, medicine and barbering were one profession, and cupping declined due to the decline of the role of baths that were widespread in Roman times.
Cupping is linked to magic, and the monks fled from it. That is why doctors later rejected him, calling it a crazy waste of blood.
8- Cupping among the Arabs before Islam
Arabs knew cupping before Islam, and they used the method of cupping known as "blood sucking leech", a red worm in water that sticks to the body. Sucks engorged blood into tumor sites such as the throat.
The Arabs would collect these worms, imprison them for a day or two without food to starve them, and then hang them at the sites of tumors, until they could suck blood vigorously.
7- Cupping among the Red Indians
There are some recent discoveries that depict the use of the early Red Indians for cupping, and even their ingenuity in it, as in the ancient Inca civilization.
conclusion
The history of cupping therapy is difficult to determine, but as it is known, cupping therapy is now considered one of the best preventive treatments