Abstract:

The study’s objective is to evaluate the clinical effect and application of acupuncture treatment for shoulder pain disorders in terms of effectiveness and safety. A narrative review of RCTs in which acupuncture was used as an intervention for patients with shoulder pain disorders (SPD) was conducted. All randomised controlled trials that evaluate the effects of acupuncture for shoulder pain disorders compared with controls were included. The primary outcomes were pain and shoulder function. Based on the inclusive and exclusive criteria, 22 randomised control trials involving 1801 participants that evaluated the effects of acupuncture for various shoulder pain disorders were retrieved from various databases, and the intervention and results were examined. Eleven studies found that acupuncture treatment had significantly greater effects when compared with other therapies or treatments. Nine studies showed that, when combined with other therapies or treatments, the acupuncture group showed a better therapeutic effect than the therapy group itself. The results also show that acupuncture treatment can produce the same therapeutic effects as physical therapy, manual therapy, the uses of tropical NSAIDs, oral medications, and corticosteroid injections. No serious adverse events were observed. The findings indicated that acupuncture could be a safe and effective treatment for shoulder pain disorders by reducing pain and restoring shoulder functions. The results are consistent with those of past literature reviews. Although there is some evidence for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for shoulder pain disorders, the level of evidence is still low. Due to several limitations and heterogeneity, the results are inconclusive, and therefore the findings need to be interpreted with caution. Future large-scale studies should be more rigorous and well-designed RCTs with high-quality studies, a longer study duration with more subjects, an ideal standardised treatment regimen, and transparent reporting.

Keywords: Acupuncture, Shoulder pain, Shoulder disorders, Acupuncture safety, Alternatives therapies, Traditional Chinese medicine, Pain relief.

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