Treating Frozen Shoulder with Integrative Medicine Approach by the Energy Accumulator

摘要

Background: Frozen shoulder is a painful and disabling disorder of unclear cause, affecting middle-aged people after their 5th decade.They suffer from annoying pain and limited shoulder mobility, energy accumulator provides a better way of relief th rough an integrative medicine concept. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of localized heat therapy using the energy accumulator on acupoints combined with mobilization exercise for the treatment of frozen shoulder. Methods: Thirty-eight subjects (26 females, 12 males) of age 45-65 (mean age 55.43) were recruited. An orthopedic surgeon diagnosed frozen shoulder using Codmanzs 12 criteria. An eight-session Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment applying heat and stroking massage was offered. All subjects completed the questionnaire set including Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS), Shoulder Pain Disability Index (SPADI), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. Range of motion (ROM), muscle power, muscle circumference, and grip strength were measured. Results: Comparing with the controls from literature, the treatment group showed improvement in the OSS (mean change = 4.93, p< 0.01), SPADI (mean change = -18.9, p<0.01), SF-12 physical (mean change = 2.5, p<0.01), SF-12 mental (mean change = 2.6, p = 0.03), VAS (mean change = -0.5, p < 0.01), active ROM (mean change = 21.6, p< 0.01), and passive ROM (mean change = 23.7, p = 0.01). Conclusion: The results demonstrated an efficient and effective treatment effect of using the energy accumulator in treating frozen shoulders among middle-aged patients.This study was a good example of integrating Western medicine with the TCM for efficient and effective treatment outcomes.