Acupotomy Therapy for Shoulder Adhesive Capsulitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Table 1

Characteristics of included studies.

Study	Study location	Sample size (male/female)	Interventions	Treatment period	Outcomes	Adverse events
Zhang [19]	Hunan, China	AG: 10/20	AG: acupotomy	AG: once per week for 4 weeks	VAS	No
		CG: 11/19	CG: acupuncture	CG: once a day for 28 days, 30 min
Qiu [20]	Fujian, China	AG: 7/12	AG: acupotomy	AG: once per week for 3 weeks	VAS	NR
		CG: 9/11	CG: acupuncture	CG: once every two days for 20 days, 30 min
Peng [21]	Heilongjiang, China	AG: 20/18	AG: acupotomy + FE	AG: Once per week for 3 weeks	VAS	NR
		CG: 16/20	CG: steroid injection + FE	CG: NR
Ma [22]	Beijing, China	AG: 15/24	AG: acupotomy + FE	AG: once every 6 days, a total of 3 times, FE once a day for 14 days	VAS	Not serious, mild
		CG: 19/20	CG: oral drugs (naproxen sodium) + FE	CG: Three times a day for 14 days, FE once a day for 14 days	AE
Ni et al. [23]	Hubei, China	AG: 16/23	AG: acupotomy + FE	AG: once per week for 3 weeks, FE once a day for 21 days	VAS	NR
		CG: 14/25	CG: FE	CG: FE once a day for 21 days
Su and Wang [24]	Gansu, China	AG: 16/14	AG: acupotomy	AG: once per week for 3 weeks	VAS	NR
		CG: 15/15	CG: acupuncture	CG: six times a week for 3 weeks, 30 min	CMS
Xie [25]	Guangxi, China	AG: 10/20	AG: acupotomy + FE	AG: once per week for 4 weeks, 20 to 30 minutes, FE three times a day for 28 days	VAS	Not serious, mild
		CG: 11/19	CG: acupuncture + FE	CG: five times a week for 4 weeks, FE three times a day for 28 days	AE
Liu [26]	Shandong, China	AG: 26	AG: acupotomy	AG: NR	VAS	NR
		CG: 26	CG: acupuncture	CG: NR	CMS

Abbreviations: AE, adverse events; AG, acupotomy group; CG, control group; CMS, Constant–Murley score; FE, functional exercise; NR, not reported; VAS, The visual analogue scale.