Contralateral Acupuncture in the Treatment of Chronic Shoulder Pain

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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According to traditional Chinese medical theories, a variety of acupuncture formulas can treat diseases such as pain. For example, stimulating acupoints either local or distal to the pain site has been proposed under some conditions. We hypothesize that stimulating acupoints contralateral to the pain site can successfully treat chronic shoulder pain.

Official Title
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Phase II Study of Contralateral Acupuncture in the Treatment of Chronic Shoulder Pain

Conditions
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Shoulder Pain

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Acupuncture
* Other: Control


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Uni-lateral shoulder pain for 6 weeks to 2 years VAS score ≤ 50 25-65 years of age Positive Neer's or Hawkins' signs Accept the informed consent Exclusion Criteria: Shoulder pain of neurological origins Shoulder pain of neck origins Systematic arthritis Wrist problems Previous shoulder, arm, neck or chest fractures or surgeries Mental diseases Pregnancy Inability to work for more than 3 months before treatment Diabetes Coagulative dysfunction Corticosterone or physicotherapy experience on the affected shoulder in the last 6 months Failure to accept the informed consent

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 25 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Quadruple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Acupuncture<br>Experimental group | Procedure: Acupuncture<br>* Acupuncture in the following acupoints on the contralateral side of pain site: Jiantong, Zhongzhu, Houxi, and Quchi. The patient will receive 5 treatments (each lasts 30 min) per week for four weeks.<br>|
| Sham Comparator: Waiting list<br>Control group | Other: Control<br>* Patients in the waiting list group received conventional orthopaedic therapy including physical exercise, heat or cold therapy. 50 mg diclofenac daily could be taken when the patient suffered from the pain. Injections or cortisone applications of any kind were not allowed.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Visual analogue scale (VAS) | Pain assessment | before and 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The MOS item short from health survey (SF-36) | Quality of life assessment | before and 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start | 
| Constant-Murley score | shoulder motion score | before and 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start | 
| DASH score |  | before and 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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shoulder pain, acupuncture