The blood that comes out during wet cupping therapy or oxidant therapy or oxidant releasing therapy (ORT) or cupping (hijamah) affects the central nervous system and activates several analgesic systems.
Pain during oxidant therapy or cupping stimulates the release of neurotransmitters such as endogenous opioids.
These substances include β-endorphin, which can suppress pain signals in the spinal cord.
Another mechanism that may explain the analgesic effect of oxidant therapy is strong sensory stimulation, thus resulting in a reduction in pain for varying periods of time.
This occurs because of the blocking of messages from sensory nerves that carry pain impulses.
When blood comes out due to incisions and pressure, it will cause a swelling effect on the skin that is cupped and lead to the release of β-endorphins and adrenocortical hormones into the circulation.
Both are very helpful in inhibiting inflammation in arthritis. In conclusion, oxidant therapy has several advantages.
Namely, there are signs of improvement in the patient’s clinical condition, especially on the pain scale, and the therapy significantly reduces disease activity.
Oxidant therapy can also be combined with conventional therapy in patients suffering from diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and other diseases.
Blood removal using incision or scraping methods can cause hyperglomerulus (overfunction of the kidneys), glomerular ischemia (cell death in the kidneys), glomerulosclerosis, tubulointerstitial injury, and proteinuria (the presence of protein in urine).
Therefore, oxidant therapy can increase the production of nitric oxide, so it can be concluded that when oxidant removal is performed, these substances will be released.
This condition will cause relaxation and vasodilation of blood vessels, thereby reducing vascular resistance, which will have an impact on lowering blood pressure.
During suction, the nerves in the skin will be stimulated. This stimulation will be transmitted to the posterior horn of the spinal medulla through A-delta and C nerves, as well as the spinothalamic tract toward the thalamus, which will produce endorphins.
Endorphins are small peptides released into the hypothalamus that will have an effect on improving mood and increasing feelings of calm.
With a happy and calm mood, the body will naturally feel relaxed and the heart rate will gradually decrease.
With a decrease in heart rate, cardiac output will also decrease. One of the factors that affects blood pressure is cardiac output.
Therefore, it can be concluded that with a decrease in cardiac output, blood pressure will also decrease.
The blood that comes out during oxidant therapy has a high viscosity (thick).
This is because the blood released during oxidant therapy contains lipoproteins far above normal levels.
Oxidant therapy can remove hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances in the form of lipoproteins.
High levels of bad lipoproteins can cause damage, because physiological processes within cells cannot run optimally. In fact, cells may not be able to function.
Lipoproteins are carried through the bloodstream in two protein components, namely low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
The size of LDL is larger than HDL. This allows LDL to become more easily lodged in blood vessels.
The release of lipoproteins from the body through oxidant therapy is expected to facilitate blood flow within blood vessels.
Blood pressure is also influenced by blood viscosity. In other words, with a decrease in blood viscosity in the body through oxidant therapy, blood pressure will also decrease.
High salt intake also affects increased blood pressure. High salt concentration in plasma will increase plasma viscosity or thickness.
This will increase vascular resistance, causing pressure in the arteries to rise.
In the theory of hypertension caused by free radicals and lipid peroxides, endothelial cells in blood vessels will experience dysfunction if exposed to these harmful substances.
Lipid peroxides can cause endothelial dysfunction, which will affect the decrease in the synthesis of NO and prostacyclin, which are natural vasodilators in the body.
Endothelial dysfunction will also increase the production of thromboxane A2 and endothelin, which are strong vasoconstrictors.
An imbalance between vasodilators and vasoconstrictors increases vascular resistance and causes hypertension.
Oxidative stress occurs at the early stage of chronic kidney disease, which causes hypertension.
Oxidative stress can lead to NO deficiency, where NO plays a role in lowering blood pressure.
Endothelial dysfunction will cause inhibition of microvascular NO. Therefore, the process of Oxidant Therapy specifically takes blood from capillaries located on the surface of the skin and which are very thin.
This can only be done by highly skilled individuals. Why? On the surface of the skin there are many obstructions and residual toxids (toxins) or nutritional substances that have been stored for a long time.
Through cupping therapy (oxidant therapy) or hijamah by means of cutting/scraping/incising/splitting, the blood desired by the Messenger of Allah, Shalallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam, will be obtained.
In conclusion, if cupping uses punctures or needles (lanchets), the results will be chaotic, too deep, affecting the venules and exceeding the capillaries.
As a result, it is not toxids that are removed, and the patient instead becomes dizzy because oxygen-rich blood is excessively removed.
Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad Shalallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam has emphasized:
الشِّفَاءُ فِيْ ثَلاَثَةٍ: شَرْبَةِ عَسَلٍ وَشَرْطَةِ مِحْجَمٍ وَكَيَّةِ نَارٍ وَإِنِّيْ أَنْهَى أُمَّتِيْ عَنْ الْكَيِّ
“Healing can be obtained through three means: drinking honey, the incision of a cupping blade (hijamah), and cauterization with fire. However, I (Prophet Muhammad Shallallahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam) forbid my ummah from treatment by cauterization with fire.” (HR. Muslim)
The incision or scraping in the term “syarthah mihjam” is absolute. There is no narration in authentic hadiths that mentions removing cupping blood (hijamah) using punctures (lanchets).
