Sharp-Hook Acupuncture (Feng Gou Zhen) for Patients with Periarthritis of Shoulder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Laixi Ji,Xiaofei Jin,Ping Yan,Chunlong Zhang,Chaojian Wang,Rangqian Li,Jie Yang,Peirui Nie,Haijun Wang,Yuxia Cao,Mingxiao Yang

doi:10.1155/2015/312309

Abstract

The Feng Gou Zhen (sharp-hook acupuncture) as a traditional form of ancient acupuncture is said to be particularly effective for managing periarthritis of shoulder. We conducted this randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Feng Gou Zhen as an add-on compared to conventional analgesics for patients with PAS. 132 patients were randomly assigned in a 1 : 1 ratio to either a acupuncture group receiving sharp-hook acupuncture plus acupoint injection with conventional analgesics or a control group. Patients from both groups were evaluated at week 0 (baseline), week 1, and week 4. The primary outcome measure was the change from baseline shoulder pain, measured by Visual Analogue Scale at 7 days after treatment. Secondary outcome measures include the (i) function of shoulder joint and (ii) McGill pain questionnaire. The results showed that patients in acupuncture group had better pain relief and function recovery compared with control group (P < 0.05) at 1 week after treatment. Moreover, there were statistical differences between two groups in VAS and shoulder joint function and McGill pain questionnaire at 4 weeks after treatment (P < 0.05). Therefore, the sharp-hook acupuncture helps to relieve the pain and restore the shoulder function for patients with periarthritis of shoulder.

Highlights

Periarthritis of shoulder (PAS), or, namely, the frozen shoulder, is a common, disabling musculoskeletal disorder in middle-aged people
We found that one session or two sessions of sharp-hook acupuncture treatment relieve the pain of PAS and recovers the function of shoulder joint
This study is a one-center, randomized, controlled, and open-labeled trial that assesses the effect of sharp-hook acupuncture in addition to acupoint injection with conventional analgesics for treating PAS

Summary

Background

Periarthritis of shoulder (PAS), or, namely, the frozen shoulder, is a common, disabling musculoskeletal disorder in middle-aged people. There are many treatment options for PAS, including intra-articular triamcinolone injection [5] and bupivacaine suprascapular nerve blocks [6] These modern therapies are successfully employed in clinical practice for PAS treatment. The modification of this form of needle is initiated by Dr Huaitang Shi who was a renowned acupuncturist in China, as well as the First Director of the Research Center of Acupuncture in Shanxi. We found that one session or two sessions of sharp-hook acupuncture treatment relieve the pain of PAS and recovers the function of shoulder joint. We performed this one-center, randomized controlled, open-labeled trial to assess the effect of acupuncture as addon for pain relief and joint function improvement in PAS

Participants and Methods

Results

Discussions

Conflict of Interests