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Auricular acupuncture relieved pain and decreased disability more effectively than physiotherapy for frozen shoulder treatment.
2023 Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation Physiotherapy, Local Acupuncture, and Auricular Acupuncture for Frozen Shoulder Hollisaz MT, Khatibi Aghda A, Asheghan M, Amanollahi A, Hashemi SE
Randomised Controlled Trial Ear Acupuncture Frozen Shoulder
The research was conducted through a randomized clinical trial involving three parallel groups in an outpatient clinic at a university hospital. The 116 participants, suffering from a frozen shoulder, were randomly allocated to three groups where they underwent treatments of physiotherapy, local acupuncture, or auricular acupuncture. Assessment tools like the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index questionnaire and measures of the shoulder's active and passive ranges of motion were used to evaluate the effects of treatments both before and after their implementation.
The results of the study revealed that the most substantial improvements in active and passive ranges of motion including abduction, flexion, and passive external rotation were brought about by physiotherapy. Despite this, instances of pain reduction were more successfully achieved with acupuncture treatments, with auricular acupuncture leading the pack. In addition to this, auricular acupuncture made significant strides in improving the functional abilities of patients when compared to its counterpart treatments. Throughout the study, there were no reported side effects from any of the treatment approaches used.
Auricular acupuncture was found to improve physical and emotional aspects in patients with temporomandibular disorders, with similar results to occlusal splint treatment.
2022 Complementary Therapies in Medicine Auricular acupuncture in TMD — A sham-controlled, randomized, clinical trial Aroca JP, Cardoso PMF, Favarão J, Zanini MM, Camilotti V, Busato MCA, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Ear Acupuncture Temporomandibular Disorders
In the study, patients suffering from temporomandibular disorders were allocated into three groups - those who received auricular acupuncture (AA), those treated with occlusal splints (OS), and a sham group. The patients were evaluated and monitored over an eight-week period using axes I and II of the RDC-TMD according to CONSORT guidelines.
The findings revealed significant improvements in both the emotional aspects and physical aspects amidst the auricular acupuncture group and occlusal splint group. The sham group showed no improvements in the emotional aspect and only a few in the physical aspect. The comparison between the auricular acupuncture group and the occlusal splint group revealed similar number of variables with improved outcomes, indicating that the auricular acupuncture treatment was as effective as the occlusal splint treatment. On the other hand, the sham group presented a significant difference when compared to the other groups. These results strongly suggest the potential of auricular acupuncture as a treatment option for temporomandibular disorders.