Immediate analgesia effect of contralateral needling at Tiaokou (ST38) in patients with chronic shoulder pain: A randomized controlled exploratory trial

摘要

Objective:To compare the immediate effect of acupuncture at the contralateral versus ipsilateral Tiaokou (ST38) in patients with Chronic shoulder pain (CSP).Method:Altogether,38 patients with unilateral CSP were randomly assigned to a contralateral ST38 group (Contra group) or ipsilateral ST38 group (Ipsi group).Each underwent 20 min of manual acupuncture:Contra group at the contralateral ST38,Ipsi group at the ipsilateral ST38.Primary outcome measure was the visual analog scale (VAS) score.Secondary outcome measure for assessing shoulder mobility was the Constant-Murley (CM) score,which included pain level,activities of daily living (ADL),and shoulder range of motion (RONM).These factors were assessed before and immediately after acupuncture.A value of P <.05 indicated significance.Results:VAS scores decreased immediately after treatment in both groups,but the effect was significantly greater in the Contra group (P =.043).CM scores also improved in both groups,but the Contra group improved significantly more (P =.002).The CM's pain and ADL scores were similar in the two groups (P =.055 and P =.193,respectively),but ROM and strength scores were better in the Contra group than in the Ipsi group (P =.003 and P =.037,respectively).No adverse effects were reported.Conclusion:The immediate effect of acupuncture at the contralateral ST38 may be superior to that at the ipsilateral ST38 in CSP patients.