Effect of Wet Cupping Application on Muscle Strength,Muscle Soreness and Sleep Quality in Athletes

Islak Kupa Uygulamasının Sporcularda Kas Gücü, Kas Ağrısı ve Uyku Kalitesi Üzerine Etkisi

Mustafa Karakuş1, Serdar Sucan2*, Çağrı Çelenk3, Soner Akkurt4 , Kardelen Zümrüt Çelikkol5

1Erciyes University, Faculty of Sports Sciences. High Altitude and Sports Sciences Research and Implementation Center, Kayseri, Turkey, mblackkus@gmail.com
*Corresponding author: 2Erciyes University, Faculty of Sports Sciences. High Altitude and Sports Sciences Research and Implementation Center, Kayseri, Turkey, sesucan@hotmail.com
3Erciyes University, Faculty of Sports Sciences. Kayseri, Turkey, celenkc7@hotmail.com
4Erciyes University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Sports Medicine. High Altitude and Sports Sciences Research and Implementation Center, Kayseri, Turkey. drsonerakkurt@hotmail.com
5Erciyes University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Kayseri, Turkey, kardelenzümrüt@hotmail.com

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16744249

Received / Gönderim: 15.04.2025 Accepted / Kabul: 20.06.2025 Published / Yayın: 30.06.2025

ABSTRACT

One of the most common traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) methods among athletes is cupping application. The application performed by bleeding the skin is called wet cupping (hijama). One of the most importan parameters in athletic success is muscle strenght.  Our aim is to investigate the effect of wet cupping application on muscle strength, muscle soreness and sleep quality. 14 volunteer men aged 20-24 were included in this study. After the necessary information was given to the volunteers, their written consent was obtained and they were checked for their fitness for exercise. Volunteers were divided into two groups: Cupping application group (CAG, n:7) and the control group (CG, n:7). Leg extension and leg felexion values ​​of volunteers were measured for calculating one repitition maximum weight (1RM). All volunteers were rested during one week. For CAG group; after warm-up and stretching exercises, leg quadriceps muscle strength was measured with a dynamometer. Afterwards, leg extantion, leg flexion and squat exercises were performed as 10×3 set. One minute recovery was given between each of sets. After resting, the specialist and certified physician applied wet cupping on the back area of the subjects. After 30 minutes, the muscle test was repeated and VAS scores were recorded for quadriceps and hamstring. In addition, Richard Campbell’s sleep quality test was applied. The muscle test and VAS scores were measured again after 24 hours, 48 ​​hours and 72 hours. For CG group; the same tests and exercises were performed without applying wet cupping. After a month, the groups were crossed. The wet cupping was applied to the group that did not receive the cupping, and the tests were repeated in both groups. Thus, adaptation was prevented. Student-t test was used for comparisons between groups, and ANOVA test with repeated measures was used for within group comparisons. Our results showed that VAS values ​​in CAG were significantly lower than CG. The sleep quality index was significantly higher in CAG than in CG. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of quadriceps muscle strength. According to these results, we can say that wet cupping application reduces muscle soreness, improves sleep quality, but does not increase muscle strength.

Keywords: Wet cupping, hijama, muscle strength, muscle soreness, sleep quality

ÖZ

Sporcular arasında en yaygın geleneksel ve tamamlayıcı tıp (TCM) yöntemlerinden biri kupa uygulamasıdır. Deriyi kanatarak yapılan uygulamaya ıslak kupa (hacamat) denir. Atletik başarıda en önemli parametrelerden biri kas gücüdür. Amacımız ıslak kupa uygulamasının kas gücü, kas ağrısı ve uyku kalitesi üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktır. Bu çalışmaya 20-24 yaş aralığında 14 gönüllü erkek dahil edildi. Gönüllülere gerekli bilgiler verildikten sonra yazılı onamları alındı ​​ve egzersiz için uygunlukları kontrol edildi. Gönüllüler iki gruba ayrıldı: Kupa uygulama grubu (CAG, n:7) ve kontrol grubu (CG, n:7). Gönüllülerin bacak ekstansiyonu ve bacak fleksiyonu değerleri ölçülerek bir tekrarlama maksimum ağırlığı (1RM) hesaplandı. Tüm gönüllüler bir hafta dinlendirildi. CAG grubu için; ısınma ve germe egzersizlerinden sonra dinamometre ile bacak quadriceps kas gücü ölçüldü. Daha sonra bacak ekstansiyonu, bacak fleksiyonu ve squat egzersizleri 10×3 set olarak uygulandı. Her set arasında bir dakika dinlenme verildi. Dinlendikten sonra uzman ve sertifikalı hekim deneklerin sırt bölgesine ıslak kupa uyguladı. 30 dakika sonra kas testi tekrarlandı ve quadriceps ve hamstring için VAS skorları kaydedildi. Ayrıca Richard Campbell’ın uyku kalitesi testi uygulandı. Kas testi ve VAS skorları 24 saat, 48 saat ve 72 saat sonra tekrar ölçüldü. CG grubu için; ıslak kupa uygulanmadan aynı testler ve egzersizler yapıldı. Bir ay sonra gruplar çaprazlandı. Islak kupa uygulanmayan gruba ıslak kupa uygulandı ve testler her iki grupta tekrarlandı. Böylece adaptasyon önlendi. Gruplar arası karşılaştırmalarda Student-t testi, grup içi karşılaştırmalarda ise tekrarlı ölçümlü ANOVA testi kullanıldı. Sonuçlarımız CAG’deki VAS değerlerinin CG’den anlamlı derecede düşük olduğunu gösterdi. Uyku kalitesi endeksi CAG’de CG’den anlamlı derecede yüksekti. Ancak, quadriceps kas gücü açısından gruplar arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark yoktu. Bu sonuçlara göre, ıslak kupa uygulamasının kas ağrısını azalttığını, uyku kalitesini iyileştirdiğini, ancak kas gücünü artırmadığını söyleyebiliriz.

Anahtar kelimeler: Islak kupa, hacamat, kas gücü, kas ağrısı, uyku kalitesi

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APA Citation

Karakuş, M., Sucan, S., Çelenk, Ç., Akkurt, S., & Çelikkol, K. Z. (2025). Effect of wet cupping application on muscle strength, muscle soreness and sleep quality in athletes. International Journal of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences (IJOSS), 2(2), 9–17. https:/doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16744249

MLA Citation

Karakuş, Mustafa, et al. “Effect of Wet Cupping Application on Muscle Strength, Muscle Soreness and Sleep Quality in Athletes.” International Journal of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences (IJOSS), vol. 2, no. 2, 2025, pp. 9–17. https:/doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16744249

ISO 690 Citation

KARAKUŞ, Mustafa; SUCAN, Serdar; ÇELENK, Çağrı; AKKURT, Soner; ÇELIKKOL, Kardelen Zümrüt. Effect of Wet Cupping Application on Muscle Strength, Muscle Soreness and Sleep Quality in Athletes. International Journal of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences (IJOSS), 2025, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 9–17. https:/doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16744249

Vancouver Citation

Karakuş M, Sucan S, Çelenk Ç, Akkurt S, Çelikkol KZ. Effect of wet cupping application on muscle strength, muscle soreness and sleep quality in athletes. Int J Health Exerc Sport Sci (IJOSS). 2025;2(2):9–17. https:/doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16744249

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