Dry Cupping Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the biggest cause of pain and disability worldwide. As a non-pharmacological approach, ventosatherapia has been used to control pain, improve function and quality of life. However, there is a lack of high-quality scientific evidence regarding its effects on this condition. Objective: To evaluate the effects of dry cupping on pain, function and quality of life in women with KOA. Methods: This is a randomized, blinded placebo-controlled protocol. 62 women diagnosed with KOA will be recruited, based on the clinical criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, who will be randomly divided into two groups (31 per group): dry cupping and dry cupping sham.

The intervention will be carried out for 15 minutes, twice a week, for 6 consecutive weeks, totaling 12 sessions. Both groups will be evaluated in 4 moments: before the intervention (T0), after 3 weeks of interventions (T3), at the end of the protocol (T6) and 4 weeks after the end of the interventions (follow-up - T10). The analyzed outcomes will be: Primary - pain (numerical pain scale); Secondary - Physical function (WOMAC; tests of going up / down stairs, brisk walking in 40 m and sitting / rising from a chair in 30 s), quality of life (SF-36) and global perception of the effect