Dubai: Complementary medicine experts will tell you that Hijama, or cupping, is generally good as a preventative measure as it draws out the unclean blood from the body. “Studies have shown that donating blood two or three times a year does good for your body as it regenerates the blood; similarly, cupping also helps your body make fresh blood,” says Dr Iftikhar Ahmad Saifi, a practitioner of Hijama and an American Board-certified naturopath.

People generally come to Dr Saifi’s Ibn Al Nafees Medical Clinic to seek treatment for ailments such as lower back pain and joint aches.

He says a Hijama practitioner will know where the cups are to be placed at certain spots in the back that correspond to certain organs in the body as the liver or the pancreas.

The average human body weighs 70 kilos and has about 15.2 litres of blood. Each cup sucks out about 20 ml to 15ml of toxins, Dr Saifi says. The cup marks disappear after a few days.

The treatment depends on the individual and involves making very small cuts in the back and placing glass cups on them to draw out the blood. The glass cups act as a vacuum. “When stagnated blood is drawn out, it offers relief for various ailments,” says the doctor.

Hijama comes from the Arabic word Hijam, or ‘suck’. According to one Hadith (Sayings of the Prophet [Peace Be Upon Him]): “If there is any good in your medical treatments, it is in the knife of the cupper, drinking honey, or cauterisation with fire, as appropriate to the cause of the illness….” (Reported by Al Bukhaari, 10/139).

Hijama is a branch of the Unani system of medicine, which was pioneered in Greece and developed by the Arabs. The system is based on the Hippocratic theory of four humours, the fluids in the body, that determine the body’s condition and its health as well as the susceptibility to disease.

The four humours are blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. The black bile is associated with toxins in the body and believed to be responsible for various diseases and ailments.

According to practitioners, it is when the toxins are removed that new blood is created and the body’s immunity is strengthened.

Dr Saifi says the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the Unani System of Medicine as an alternative medicine. The Chinese have also been practicing cupping for at least 3,000 years. In the West too, more and more people are turning to complementary medicine to treat various ailments. “While allopathic medicine is good for certain diseases, more people are turning to natural therapies for certain [lifestyle] diseases,” Dr Saifi says.

The doctor had practised Unani medicine in Hollywood before coming to the UAE to head the Academy of Complementary Medicine at the Knowledge Village. In the US and Europe, a large number of patients have in recent years opted for alternative medicine treatments at least once a year, he says. The philosophy of alternative medicine believes in treating the root cause of the ailment as compared to conventional medicine which deals with only the symptoms.

A survey conducted by Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) found that 28 per cent of people in the UAE used one form or the other of alternative therapy.

According to a Dubai-based vascular disease therapist, Hijama proves to be more effective than other alternative therapies. It stimulates the nerves and also boosts the circulatory system. Another Hijama practitioner says he would recommended cupping be done on certain days of the Islamic lunar month. These are the 17th, 19th and 21st since it is on these days that the gravitational force of the moon apparently makes it easier for the toxins to be drawn from the body.

Other practitioners say that research has show that cupping helps treat hypertension, back pain, migraine and varicose veins. Recent studies have shown that Hijama done at specific points on the back increases immunity by increasing the white blood cell count. The therapy activates the blood vessels within the muscles. The subsequent expansion of blood vessels helps the flow of blood and has a positive healing effect on problems such as a stiff shoulder.

According to Dr Saifi, the UAE is a pioneer of Hijama in the region as it has recognised it as an alternative therapy and is allowing its practice. “It ensures that it is done in a safe and hygienic manner,” he says, noting that certain hygienic conditions have to be met such as using the Hijama cups only once.

However, Hijama is not recommended on those who are weak, aged, on children, or on those who have a fever or cancers.

Other ailments Hijama treatment is effective for include digestive and gynaecological disorders, lymphatic blockages and insomnia besides boosting blood circulation.