Contralateral Acupuncture in the Treatment of Chronic Shoulder Pain

Phase II Study of Contralateral Acupuncture in the Treatment of Chronic Shoulder Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01733914

Enrollment

Registered

2012-11-27

Start date

2011-09-30

Completion date

2013-08-31

Last updated

2015-04-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Shoulder Pain

Keywords

shoulder pain, acupuncture

Brief summary

According to traditional Chinese medical theories, a variety of acupuncture formulas can treat diseases such as pain. For example, stimulating acupoints either local or distal to the pain site has been proposed under some conditions. We hypothesize that stimulating acupoints contralateral to the pain site can successfully treat chronic shoulder pain.

Interventions

PROCEDUREAcupuncture

Acupuncture in the following acupoints on the contralateral side of pain site: Jiantong, Zhongzhu, Houxi, and Quchi. The patient will receive 5 treatments (each lasts 30 min) per week for four weeks.

OTHERControl

Patients in the waiting list group received conventional orthopaedic therapy including physical exercise, heat or cold therapy. 50 mg diclofenac daily could be taken when the patient suffered from the pain. Injections or cortisone applications of any kind were not allowed.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

25 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Uni-lateral shoulder pain for 6 weeks to 2 years * VAS score ≤ 50 * 25-65 years of age * Positive Neer's or Hawkins' signs * Accept the informed consent

Exclusion criteria

* Shoulder pain of neurological origins * Shoulder pain of neck origins * Systematic arthritis * Wrist problems * Previous shoulder, arm, neck or chest fractures or surgeries * Mental diseases * Pregnancy * Inability to work for more than 3 months before treatment * Diabetes * Coagulative dysfunction * Corticosterone or physicotherapy experience on the affected shoulder in the last 6 months * Failure to accept the informed consent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Visual analogue scale (VAS)	before and 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start	Pain assessment

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
The MOS item short from health survey (SF-36)	before and 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start	Quality of life assessment
Constant-Murley score	before and 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start	shoulder motion score
DASH score	before and 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after treatment start	—

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 2, 2026