The Emotional and Awareness Dimensions of Cupping Therapy among Young Adults in Kurnool Andhra Pradesh

Recently, cupping therapy has gained popularity and is now commonly used in various regions worldwide. However, some patients exhibit resistance to this treatment due to the visually unpleasant marks it leaves on the skin, which can evoke negative reactions. This study aimed to explore the awareness and emotional aspects associated with cupping therapy. In this pilot study, 100 healthy volunteers aged between 15 -50 years were exposed to emotionally evocative visual stimuli representing fear, disgust, happiness, neutral emotions, and cupping, along with control images. Prior to the experiment, participants completed the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III. The findings revealed that awareness was evident in 21% of the participants, while negative emotions were observed in 54% of them.