Acupuncture is effective for relieving chronic shoulder pain. Meiji University of Integrative Medicine (Kyoto, Japan) researchers find true acupuncture more effective than sham acupuncture for the relief of Chronic Shoulder Pain (CSP).
The study involved 18 voluntary patients from the Meiji University of Integrative Medicine Hospital.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria were the following:
✅ Shoulder pain lasting for 6 months
✅ Insufficient response to the medications prescribed by their orthopaedic specialist.
✅ An average pain score of 50 mm or on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS).
✅ Age between 40 years and 70 years.
✅ No osteoarthritis of the glenohumeral joint or systemic bone and joint disorder (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis.)
✅ No history of shoulder surgery
✅ No other current therapy involving analgesic
✅ Not received acupuncture in the last 6 months
The ROM (degree of abduction and lateral rotation) in both groups increased significantly from scores before treatment. Also, the degree of abduction and lateral rotation of the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group.
Comparison between the two groups demonstrates a significant difference. The researchers conclude that “compared with sham acupuncture therapy, true acupuncture is more effective for the treatment of chronic shoulder pain.”