Lower Adverse Effects and Pain: Study Supports Fire Needle and Cupping in Herpes Zoster Treatment
China: A recent study published in the Archives of Dermatological Research highlights the enhanced effectiveness of combining fire needle therapy and cupping with standard drug treatments, such as famciclovir and gabapentin, in managing acute herpes zoster (AHZ). This integrative approach has shown superior pain relief, quicker symptom resolution, and fewer adverse reactions, as well as a reduced incidence of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) compared to drug therapy alone. However, experts emphasize that fire needle and cupping therapy should be viewed as complementary to standard medication, not as standalone treatments.
The study also illuminates the necessity of incorporating a sham-treated control group in future research to eliminate potential placebo effects. Given the invasive nature of fire needling and cupping, understanding the specific contributions of these therapies to treatment outcomes is crucial for validating their efficacy.
Shihua Li, People’s Hospital of Yuxi City, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Province, China, and colleagues aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of combining fire needle therapy and cupping (FC) with oral famciclovir and gabapentin in treating acute-phase herpes zoster.
For this purpose, the researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 84 AHZ patients meeting diagnostic criteria. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups on a 1:1 basis. Group A received oral famciclovir and gabapentin (FG), while Group B received a combination of fire needle plus cupping (FC) alongside FG treatment.
The primary outcome was the difference in pain levels, measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes included changes in sign-symptom scores, adverse effect incidence, and PHN occurrence.
Based on the study, the researchers reported the following findings:
- Both groups experienced reduced VAS and symptom-sign scores after one week of treatment compared to baseline.
- Group B showed a significantly greater reduction in VAS scores than Group A.
- Symptom-sign score improvements were significantly better in Group B compared to Group A.
- Adverse reaction rates were higher in Group A (21.95%) than in Group B (4.76%), with a significant difference.
- The incidence of PHN was significantly lower in Group B (4.76%) compared to Group A (29.27%).
The authors concluded that combining fire needles and cupping with medication offers better pain relief and symptom improvement for AHZ than medication alone. This suggests that fire needles and cupping can serve as an effective complementary therapy, enhancing treatment outcomes and safety.
They emphasized that this approach should supplement standard drug treatments, not replace them. The authors also acknowledged the absence of a sham control group, which may have influenced the results, and recommended future studies include such controls to confirm these findings.
Reference:
Zhang, Y., Jing, M., Wang, L. et al. Combining fire needle plus cupping with famciclovir and gabapentin in the treatment of acute herpes zoster: a revised intervention approach. Arch Dermatol Res 317, 112 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-024-03628-3
