Chen, Guo-Lian, Xiao, Guo-Min, Zheng, Xiu-Li · Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion · 2008
This study tested whether cupping therapy (a traditional Chinese medicine technique using suction cups on the back) could help people with chronic fatigue syndrome. Researchers compared 142 patients receiving cupping treatment to 49 patients receiving acupuncture. The cupping group showed a higher improvement rate (97.9%) compared to the acupuncture group (79.6%), and fatigue scores improved more in the cupping group.
ME/CFS patients often seek alternative therapies due to limited conventional treatment options. Understanding the relative effectiveness of traditional medicine approaches like cupping could inform treatment choices and complement conventional management strategies for fatigue-related conditions.
This study does not prove cupping is more effective than placebo or no treatment—it only compares two active interventions. The substantial group size imbalance (142 vs 49) and lack of blinding introduce bias. The findings cannot establish whether any improvement is due to cupping's specific mechanism versus expectation effects or general care.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Chen, Guo-Lian, Xiao, Guo-Min, & Zheng, Xiu-Li (2008). [Observation on therapeutic effect of multiple cupping at back-shu points on chronic fatigue syndrome].. Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18630535/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-chen-2008-observation-therapeutic,
author = {Chen, Guo-Lian and Xiao, Guo-Min and Zheng, Xiu-Li},
title = {[Observation on therapeutic effect of multiple cupping at back-shu points on chronic fatigue syndrome].},
journal = {Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion},
year = {2008},
note = {PubMed: 18630535},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chen-2008-observation-therapeutic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chen-2008-observation-therapeutic
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