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

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.

Effectiveness and safety of fire needle on periarthritis of shoulder

“…Thus, the treatment of PAS is of great significance to increase people's life quality and advance public health. [16] However, conventional treatment of modern medicine that are associated with adverse events and side effect, cannot withdraw the symptoms and harmfulness of PAS completely. Therefore, it is necessary to search for alternative therapy with higher effective rate and less side effects.…”

Application of Acupuncture for Shoulder Pain Over the Past 22 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Some of these included studies reported that acupuncture is effective in relieving shoulder pain, 43,44 whereas others did not mention whether it is effective or ineffective in treating shoulder pain 26 or whether it is ineffective in treating shoulder pain; 45 Different acupuncture methods or tools have been used in studies on acupuncture to treat shoulder pain, such as bee venom acupuncture, 46 auricular acupuncture, 47 fire needles, 48,49 small needle-knife, 41 thread-embedding acupuncture, 50 warm-needle moxibustion and heat-sensitive moxibustion, 6 electroacupuncture, 51 and sharp-hook acupuncture. 52 Some studies are related to summarizing the common acupoints rules of acupuncture treating and moxibustion in shoulder pain, such as Tiaokou; 53 Chengshan acupoint; 54 Baihui acupoint; 55 Ashi points stimulation; 56 Zhongfu, Tianfu, Xiabai, Binao, Naohui, Jianliao, and Xiaoluo points; 57 distal-needling acupuncture; 58 and acupuncture on the opposite side of the pain to treat long-term shoulder pain. 59 "Dry needling", "trigger point", "injection", and "corticosteroid injection" are included in the top 10 most influential keywords (Table 7).…”

Acupuncture for Atraumatic Shoulder Conditions: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…However, there are fundamental differences in the pathogenesis between traumatic and nontraumatic shoulder pain, and most existing reviews did not distinguish between the two causes of shoulder pain in participants, potentially leading to bias in the conclusions. In recent decades, research on acupuncture for shoulder pain has continued, with new methods of acupuncture being developed and new evidence being produced that acupuncture is superior to many other treatments in relieving shoulder pain (33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Thus, it is necessary to revisit the overall comparison between acupuncture and other interventions for common atraumatic shoulder pain.…”