Pain is the commonest clinical presentation in vata oriented musculo-skeletal disorders. This is the prime presentation of a host of clinical conditions like lumbar spondylosis, cervical spondylosis,frozen shoulder, muscular spasm and cramps, sciatica, chronic knee pain due to osteo-arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Ayurveda has named diseases focusing on the major symptom, shoola: katishoola, manyashoola etc. are examples.Statistics on chronic pain states that > 1.5 billion people are suffering from some or the other sort of muscular pain globally. The significance of this data is that majority are young adults and teenagers, which causes a serious dent in the work hours of the society. 63% of them consult a doctor first for the management of pain. Hence, pain management has become the top priority in chronic musculo-skeletal conditions. Ancient therapeutic techniques like alabu and ghati were used to reduce pain and spasm in such conditions, details of which are narrated in Ayurvedic classics. Both these techniques rely upon suction, which is applied at the site of pain. However, the classical methods of alabu and ghati are extremely difficult to be done in the present times. Hence a currently available technique which pursues the philosophy and technique of the classical methods; known as cupping therapy was found worth trial. Unfortunately the knowledge about its mechanism is limited and its proclaimed clinical efficacy is  yet to be put to clinical trials. Hence a clinical trial is conducted for testing the efficacy cupping technique in selected chronic musculo-skeletal cases with pain as the principal presentation. Appropriate data collection is done from Samhitas, reference books and published articles.

Key words:Pain, Shoola, Cupping, Ghati, Alabu