Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
Recent Insights
Acupuncture appears to be an effective and safe method to alleviate persistent myofascial head and neck pain.
Neck Pain Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
Compared with other therapies, acupuncture at ST38 appeared to reach a better therapeutic effectiveness in improving the recovery of shoulder joint mobility.
Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
Acupuncture combined with physiotherapy or exercise was found to be more effective for frozen shoulder than physiotherapy or exercise alone in the short and long term.
Frozen Shoulder Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
Acupuncture relieves neck pain better than sham acupuncture and those who received acupuncture report less pain and disability at short‐term follow‐up than those on a wait‐list.
Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
Moderate quality studies suggest that acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for lateral elbow pain.
Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
A meta-analysis of acupuncture versus steroid block therapy favored acupuncture in terms of responder rate.
Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain
Related Topics
Research Articles
Published research studies are articles that present the findings of original research that has undergone a peer-review process and has been made publicly available in scholarly journals, books or other media.
The effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of persistent regional myofascial head and neck pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2020 Mar Complementary Therapies in Medicine Farag AM, Malacarne A, Pagni SE, Maloney GE.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain Neck PainAcupuncture appears to be an effective and safe method to alleviate persistent myofascial head and neck pain.
Acupuncture and related interventions for the treatment of symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome
2018 Dec 04 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Choi GH, Wieland LS, Lee H, Sim H, Lee MS, Shin BC
We do not have enough good information from current studies to be sure about the effects of acupuncture and related treatments for CTS. We need larger and better‐quality studies to understand any effects of acupuncture and related interventions on symptoms of CTS.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist PainAcupuncture at Tiaokou (ST38) for Shoulder Adhesive Capsulitis: What Strengths Does It Have? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
2018 Apr 22 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Yang C, Lv TT, Yu TY, Wong S, Lu MQ, Li YZ
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist PainCompared with other therapies, acupuncture at ST38 appeared to reach a better therapeutic effectiveness in improving the recovery of shoulder joint mobility.
Is cupping therapy effective in patients with neck pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis
2018 Jan BMJ Open Kim S, Lee S, Kim M, et al
The study highlighted that cupping was found to reduce neck pain in patients compared with control groups.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain CuppingEffectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of shoulder pain: a systematic review of published randomised clinical trials
2017 Dec 1 Physiotherapy A. Rubio M. Mansfield J. Lewis
Systematic Review Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain Frozen ShoulderAcupuncture combined with physiotherapy or exercise was found to be more effective for frozen shoulder than physiotherapy or exercise alone in the short and long term.
Research Insights
Insights are moderated by the Research Hub team and offer an at-a-glance overview of interesting research findings.
Acupuncture appears to be an effective and safe method to alleviate persistent myofascial head and neck pain.
2020 Complementary Therapies in Medicine The effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of persistent regional myofascial head and neck pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis Farag AM, Malacarne A, Pagni SE, Maloney GE.
Systematic Review Neck Pain
To investigate the impact of acupuncture on persistent myofascial head and neck pain, only randomized controlled clinical trials were considered. These studies were hunted in a variety of databases, including PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library, in addition to a manual search. The main metric used for outcome measurement was the comparison of the mean pain intensity score on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) between the acupuncture and sham-needling/no intervention groups. Additionally, safety data and adherence rate were looked into.
The key findings from the gathered randomized controlled clinical trials showed a decrease in the Visual Analogue Scale pain intensity scores in the acupuncture group when compared with the sham-needling/no intervention group. Only four trials were included in the concluding meta-analysis, which showed a substantial difference in pain intensity between the acupuncture and sham-needling/no intervention groups. Overall, the results demonstrated promising safety levels, evidenced by low side effects/withdrawal rates. However, the studies were inconsistent in the way they reported outcomes.
Compared with other therapies, acupuncture at ST38 appeared to reach a better therapeutic effectiveness in improving the recovery of shoulder joint mobility.
2018 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Acupuncture at Tiaokou (ST38) for Shoulder Adhesive Capsulitis: What Strengths Does It Have? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Yang C, Lv TT, Yu TY, Wong S, Lu MQ, Li YZ
Systematic Review
The results of our meta-analysis revealed significant differences in acupuncture at Tiaokou (as sole treatment or in combination with shoulder acupoints) versus other therapies (acupuncture at shoulder acupoints, tuina, exercise of the affected shoulder, and oral NSAIDs) for the relief of shoulder pain. What is more, compared with other therapies, acupuncture at Tiaokou appeared to reach a better therapeutic effectiveness in improving the recovery of shoulder joint mobility.
Acupuncture combined with physiotherapy or exercise was found to be more effective for frozen shoulder than physiotherapy or exercise alone in the short and long term.
2017 Physiotherapy Effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of shoulder pain: a systematic review of published randomised clinical trials A. Rubio M. Mansfield J. Lewis
Systematic Review Frozen Shoulder
Shoulder pain is a leading musculoskeletal pain complaint, and is responsible for high morbidity with marked impact on quality of life. Acupuncture is a modality commonly employed in the treatment of shoulder conditions; however, past systematic reviews investigating its effectiveness have been inconclusive, noting a paucity of good quality research. A new body of research has since been published, and is included within this review. The objective of this systematic review was therefore to investigate the current evidence base for the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of shoulder pain.
Acupuncture relieves neck pain better than sham acupuncture and those who received acupuncture report less pain and disability at short‐term follow‐up than those on a wait‐list.
2016 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Acupuncture for neck disorders Trinh K, Graham N, Irnich D, Cameron ID, Forget M.
Systematic Review
For mechanical neck pain, we found that acupuncture is beneficial immediately following treatment and at short‐term follow‐up compared with sham treatments for pain intensity; at short‐term follow‐up compared with sham treatments for disability (NPQ); at short‐term follow‐up compared with inactive treatments for pain intensity; and at short‐term follow‐up compared with wait‐list control for pain intensity and neck disability improvement. Effects do not seem sustainable over the long term. Acupuncture treatments appear to be relatively safe.
Moderate quality studies suggest that acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for lateral elbow pain.
2014 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Acupuncture and moxibustion for lateral elbow pain: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials Gadau M, Yeung WF, Liu H, Zaslawski C, Tan YS, Wang FC, et al.
Systematic Review
All studies had at least one domain rated as high risk or uncertain risk of bias in the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results from three RCTs of moderate quality showed that acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture. Results from 10 RCTs of mostly low quality showed that acupuncture or moxibustion was superior or equal to conventional treatment, such as local anesthetic injection, local steroid injection, non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs, or ultrasound. There were six low quality RCTs that compared acupuncture and moxibustion combined with manual acupuncture alone, and all showed that acupuncture and moxibustion combined was superior to manual acupuncture alone.
Review Articles
Review articles summarise and critically evaluate the current state of research on a specific topic or field by synthesising multiple primary research studies.
The effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of persistent regional myofascial head and neck pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2020 Mar Complementary Therapies in Medicine Farag AM, Malacarne A, Pagni SE, Maloney GE.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain Neck PainAcupuncture appears to be an effective and safe method to alleviate persistent myofascial head and neck pain.
Acupuncture and related interventions for the treatment of symptoms associated with carpal tunnel syndrome
2018 Dec 04 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Choi GH, Wieland LS, Lee H, Sim H, Lee MS, Shin BC
We do not have enough good information from current studies to be sure about the effects of acupuncture and related treatments for CTS. We need larger and better‐quality studies to understand any effects of acupuncture and related interventions on symptoms of CTS.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist PainAcupuncture at Tiaokou (ST38) for Shoulder Adhesive Capsulitis: What Strengths Does It Have? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
2018 Apr 22 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Yang C, Lv TT, Yu TY, Wong S, Lu MQ, Li YZ
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist PainCompared with other therapies, acupuncture at ST38 appeared to reach a better therapeutic effectiveness in improving the recovery of shoulder joint mobility.
Is cupping therapy effective in patients with neck pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis
2018 Jan BMJ Open Kim S, Lee S, Kim M, et al
The study highlighted that cupping was found to reduce neck pain in patients compared with control groups.
Systematic Review Meta-Analysis Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain CuppingEffectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of shoulder pain: a systematic review of published randomised clinical trials
2017 Dec 1 Physiotherapy A. Rubio M. Mansfield J. Lewis
Systematic Review Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain Frozen ShoulderAcupuncture combined with physiotherapy or exercise was found to be more effective for frozen shoulder than physiotherapy or exercise alone in the short and long term.
Study Protocols
Published study protocols are detailed plans that outline the objectives, methodology, statistical analyses, and organisation of a research study that have been made publicly available for others to review and use as a reference.
The effectiveness of acupuncture and moxibustion for treating tenosynovitis
2020 Dec 04 Medicine Huang S, Fan Q, Xiong J, Liao K, Hua F, Xiang J, et al.
Evidence showed that acupuncture is valid for treating De Quervain's tenosynovitis. It also showed that it improves the local blood circulation of the lesion by promoting the repair of muscles, tendons and other soft tissues.
Study Protocol Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist Pain De Quervains TenosynovitisAcupuncture for lateral epicondylitis: A prisma-compliant protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
2020 Sep 11 Medicine Kim, Ha-Na KMDa; Goo, Bonhyuk KMD, PhDb, ∗; Nam, Sang-Soo KMD, et al.
Acupuncture treatments are effective in releasing neurotransmitters to relief tendinopathy. In this study, it is reported to have increase blood flow and collagen proliferation to help regenerate the tendon. Since lateral epicondylitis is a degenerative condition from repetitive damage rather than an inflammatory condition. The effect of acupuncture on recovery from the damaged tendon provides long term alternative and overall improved quality of life for elbow pain patients.
Study Protocol Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist PainAcupuncture and manual therapy for rotator cuff tears: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis
2020 May 22 Medicine Tang H, Luo F, Fan H, Huang L, Liao S, Yu W, et al.
The research shows that acupuncture can reduce the sensitivity of tissue to pain and improve joint activity. It can reduce pain by enhancing exchange between rotator cuff cartilage fluids and increasing joint mobility. The study protocol will showcase effeciacy of acupuncture to relief pain for rotator cuff injuries.
Study Protocol Neck, Shoulder, Arm & Wrist PainPresentation Slides
Acupuncture appears to be an effective and safe method to alleviate persistent myofascial head and neck pain.
Compared with other therapies, acupuncture at ST38 appeared to reach a better therapeutic effectiveness in improving the recovery of shoulder joint mobility.
Acupuncture combined with physiotherapy or exercise was found to be more effective for frozen shoulder than physiotherapy or exercise alone in the short and long term.
Acupuncture relieves neck pain better than sham acupuncture and those who received acupuncture report less pain and disability at short‐term follow‐up than those on a wait‐list.
Moderate quality studies suggest that acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture for lateral elbow pain.
A meta-analysis of acupuncture versus steroid block therapy favored acupuncture in terms of responder rate.
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