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

摘要

ObjectiveTo compare the immediate effect of acupuncture at the contralateral versus ipsilateralTiaokou(ST38) in patients with Chronic shoulder pain (CSP).MethodAltogether, 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 (ROM). These factors were assessed before and immediately after acupuncture. A value ofP?