Hijama or cupping therapy is an Islamic medical practice used for pain relief and curing other diseases. It’s a medical therapy where the congested and stagnant blood is drawn from the body using the mouth of a cup. Hijama was regularly performed by the prophet Muhammad S.A.W due to the health benefits it offers and recommended it to his Ummah (nation).
The history of Hijama dates back to almost 3000 BC. The Arabs, Greeks and Persians used it to cure illnesses and gain purity. Hippocrates, a celebrated Greek practitioner used Hijama to treat physiological illnesses.
Hijama is done by applying cups to the parts of the skin where pain or ache feels. They cling to the skin for a few minutes. The cups are applied to create a tight seal and draw out stagnant blood. The mouths of the cups are usually made of glass or plastic. In Islam, Hijama holds a special medical importance due to its use by the prophet and medical benefits. Below are 9 of the major benefits Hijama or Islamic cupping therapy has:
Leech therapy has shown drastic result in patients with Pain disorders, psoriasis, Eczema, Swelling and all other kind of skin infections.
Blood-sucking leeches suck your blood using two ways: they use a proboscis to puncture your skin, or they use their three jaws and millions of little teeth. They live just about anywhere where water is. But leeches are still being used to suck blood! The leech can remove any congested blood to allow normal circulation to return to the tissues, thus preventing gangrene from starting.
Indications of Leech Therapy are:
Cupping therapy is an ancient form alternative therapy which dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese and middle Eastern cultures. During cupping therapy therapists apply glass, bamboo or silicone cups to the skin for a few minutes to create suction.
How does Dry Cupping work?
Initially the vacuum application of the cup pulls blood into an area. This leads to the effected tissue becoming saturated with fresh blood. This saturation can often leave a circular mark, which is consistent with a hicky or love bite mark. However, this usually disappears after a day or so and happens to a lesser extent on subsequent treatments.
Neovascularisation (new blood vessel formation), occurs in response to blood being draw into the tissue. This leads to an increase in nutrient and oxygen content within the localised area.
Due to the vacuum effect, the soft tissue often experiences micro-trauma and separation between the tissue layers. The body responds to this micro-trauma by stimulating an inflammatory response, which is the natural process of healing. During this stage, the body releases chemicals such as white blood cells, platelets and fibroblasts to initiate healing.
Finally, the stretch that is produced in the soft tissue and fascia leads to a relaxation effect within the muscle, which results improved range of motion and performance.
The application of cups can be used to treat a variety of conditions such as:
Hammam is ancient Unani therapy widely practiced and supervised by governments in the past for well-being of general public.
Diaphoretic bath is procedure to induce profuse sweating or perspiration through vaporized heat. Sweating is an essential function that helps the body stay cool. When the body temperature rises, the autonomic nervous system stimulates the sweat glands to secrete fluid onto the surface of the skin. Excessive sweating promotes the excretion of morbid matter from the body and helps in restoring health.
Medicated steam bath has an extra advantage due to effects of medicines used in different diseases. It acts as a detoxification procedure, rejuvenates the body used for many chronic metabolic, skin, musculoskeletal and neurological diseases. It improves strength, immunity, metabolism, muscle nutrition and blood circulation.Most of time it is combined with the Massage to get maximum benefits.
General indication:
Among all the regimental therapies prescribed by Unani scholars, Nutool is a novel method in which water, oil or medicated decoction is poured from a height over specific sites of body in certain diseases.
In this procedure the affected or diseased part of the body is washed by a stream of water or medicated decoction from a prescribed height.
Nutool is found to be very effective in the treatment of several chronic diseases like:
Inhalation therapies are a group of respiratory, or breathing, treatments designed to help restore or improve breathing function in patients with a variety of diseases, conditions, or injuries. The treatments range from at-home oxygen therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to mechanical ventilation for patients with acute respiratory failure. Inhalation therapies usually include the following categories:
Purpose
Inhalation therapies are ordered for various stages of diseases which are causing progressive or sudden respiratory failure. Although physicians generally follow guidelines to assign specific therapy according the type and stage of a disease, the ultimate decision is based on a number of tests indicating pulmonary function and the presence or absence of oxygen in body organs and tissues.
Massage is a therapeutic technique or systematic manipulation of body tissues with the hands. It involves working and acting on the body with gentle pressure by using expertise hands sometimes with fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, feet, or with a massage device. Massage can promote relaxation and well-being of the patient.
Several types of Massage have been mentioned in Unani system of Medicine e.g. hard massage, soft massage etc. Similarly prolonged and moderate massages are also recommended by Unani physicians based on the requirement of the disease conditions and body.
Applications of Different types of massages:
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Assist Prof, Govt Tibbi College, Patna
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