Sonny Bill Williams posts photo of himself undergoing a hijama cupping treatment
RUGBY star Sonny Bill Williams has surprised his half-a-million Twitter followers by sharing a photo of himself undergoing an unusual medical treatment.
RUGBY star Sonny Bill Williams has surprised his 500,000 Twitter followers by sharing a photo of himself undergoing an unusual health treatment.
The Chiefs player is a fan of hijama cupping, a traditional Arabic medicinal treatment and form of ‘wet cupping’, where blood is drawn from the skin via a small incision. He posted the photo on Wednesday afternoon with the caption, “Detox time.”
The Islamic prophet Muhammad is quoted in the Koran as saying, “Indeed the best of remedies you have is hijama, and if there was something excellent to be used as a remedy then it is hijama.”
Dry cupping refers to the same practice, but is done without making an incision in the skin.
Detox time 🙌🽠pic.twitter.com/A5l79XPHG6
— Sonny Bill Williams (@SonnyBWilliams) November 25, 2015“It’s not painful, generally. It probably looks scarier than it is,” said Professor Marc Cohen, a holistic medicine expert from RMIT University’s School of Health Sciences.
“It’s supposed to mobilise blood flow and promote a release of stagnant blood, so blood that is not circulating in the body. I know they use it to help with bruising in martial arts,” he told news.com.au.
Professor Cohen said the practice has been around for thousands of years and was used in many ancient medicinal therapies from China, the Middle East and Europe.
@SonnyBWilliams way to go sonny, kick all the toxic out .. best remedy!!ðŸ‘👠love hijamah
— Vella Maingot (@Velladon) November 25, 2015@SonnyBWilliams omg 😲😲😲😲😲😲😣😣😣😣 heard of it never seen that much blood coming out in my life. Enjoy 😆
— Sue Ace ☕ (@SueyDoz) November 25, 2015@SonnyBWilliams lol what I do this but blood is not suppose to come out .... That damages your skin.
— Randall (@ratatatran) November 25, 2015@SonnyBWilliams that looks so painful 😱 but kinda relaxing at the same time ☺ï¸
— Sara (@jediCAT_grimes) November 25, 2015There is limited scientific evidence available on cupping therapies.
A 2008 study of 70 patients with chronic headaches or migraines, published in The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, found that headache severity decreased by 66 per cent following wet-cupping treatment. “We conclude that wet-cupping leads to clinical relevant benefits for primary care patients with headaches,” the study said.
According to a 2011 published in the Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies journal, two out of three reviews into the effectiveness of wet and dry cupping found “some evidence” that cupping worked in treating pain.
But the paper acknowledged that “few randomised controlled trials have examined the effectiveness of cupping (specifically wet cupping), and those that have been published were generally of low quality, with many limitations.”
Sonny Bill Williams made headlines earlier this month after he gave his Rugby World Cup champion medical to 14-year-old Charlie Line, following the All Blacks 34-17 victory over the Wallabies at Twickenham.
SBW, as he is affectionately referred to, has won two NRL premierships, a Super Rugby title, a Rugby World Cup and has been crowned a heavyweight boxing champion.
He converted to Islam in 2008 after being involved in several off-field incidents, including a drink-driving charge and a fine for public urination.