Acupuncture for Poststroke Shoulder Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Table 1

Summary of randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for poststroke shoulder pain.

Author; (year)	Condition; sample size	Intervention group	Control group	Main outcomes
Gao et al. [15]; (2014)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (25/25/25)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (LI15, SI9, TE14, SI11, HT1, LI11, LI10, PC6, TE5, and LI4; 6 times weekly for 4 weeks, 30 min)	(B) AT; (C) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS; () FMA
Liu and Shi [16]; (2013)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (33/27)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (BL20, BL21, ST36, ST40, SP10, GV20, and EX-HN1; once every day for 4 weeks, 30 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() Effective rate
Wan et al. [17]; (2013)	Poststroke shoulder-hand; syndrome; (60/60)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (LU9, ST36, GB39, TE5, LI10, LI11, and LI15; once every day for 4 weeks, 30~40 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() FMA; () Effective rate
Ni et al. [18]; (2013)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (32/32)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (Ashi points; once every day for 60 days, 5 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS; ( FMA
Zhang et al. [19]; (2012)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (40/40)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (BP-LE6; once every day for 3 weeks, 10~20 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS; () FMA
Bao et al. [20]; (2012)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (46/41/42)	(A) EA + rehabilitation treatment; (LI15, TE14, SI9, LI14, LI11, LI10, and TE5; once every day for 30 days, 30 min, 100 A, 2 Hz)	(B) EA; (C) Rehabilitation treatment	() FMA
Chen et al. [21]; (2011)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (30/30)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (CV12, KI17, ST26, Shangfengshidian, and Shangfeng shiwaidian; once every day for 2 weeks, 30 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS; () FMA
Liu [22]; (2009)	Poststroke shoulder-hand; syndrome; (40/40)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (BP-LE6; once every day for 40 days, 30 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS; () FMA
Shang et al. [23]; (2008)	Poststroke shoulder-hand; syndrome; (40/40/40)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (LI15, Jianquan, TE14, HT1, LI14, LI11, PC6, and LI14; 3 times weekly for 4 weeks, 40 min)	(B) AT; (C) Rehabilitation treatment	() Effective rate
Zhu et al. [24]; (2007)	Poststroke shoulder; subluxation; (30/30)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (LI15, SI9, TE14, TE13; once every day for 4 weeks, 30 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS; () Effective rate
Zhao and Song [25]; (2004)	Poststroke shoulder-hand; syndrome; (30/24)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (SI11, LI15, LI11, TE7, TE4, Jingbi, and EXUE9; once every day for 10 days, 20 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() FMA
Zhou [26]; (2002)	Poststroke shoulder pain; (50/50)	(A) AT + rehabilitation treatment; (LI15, TE14, SI9, LI11, LI10, TE5, and LI4; once every day for 4 weeks, 20 min)	(B) Rehabilitation treatment	() VAS

AT: acupuncture treatment, EA: electroacupuncture, VAS: the Visual Analogue Scale, and FMA: the Fugl-Meyer Assessment; adverse effects were not reported for any study.