Acupuncture, in combination with regular rehabilitation, may effectively alleviate poststroke shoulder pain more than rehabilitation alone.
Systematic Review
The study utilized seven databases to find existing research studies concerning the use of acupuncture in relieving poststroke shoulder pain, with no language limitations imposed on the search. The primary focus was on randomized controlled trials that compared the impact of acupuncture with conventional controls. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) were primarily used to measure the extent of the pain and effectiveness of the treatments.
The results of the analysis of these studies suggested a definitive trend indicating the adoption of acupuncture alongside regular rehabilitation treatment enhanced the remedial effect on poststroke shoulder pain. The reduction in pain as reported by the VAS, improvements in the FMA, and overall efficacy rates showed a marked improvement when acupuncture was incorporated with the standard rehabilitation treatments when compared to those treatments on their own. However, the study does acknowledge that while the results point towards the effectiveness of acupuncture, the results should be interpreted with caution.
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