Acupuncture for Shoulder Pain

This small study (60 patients) involved the use of electro-acupuncture to treat shoulder pain. Electro-acupuncture is very similar to TENS, except the electrodes are attached to the needles, rather than just pads on the surface of the skin.

This was a randomized trial conducted in Hong Kong and patients either received ‘active’ electro-acupuncture or ‘sham’ electro-acupuncture, addition to standard exercises.

Active or sham electro-acupuncture was given for 30 minutes twice weekly over a period of four weeks and a 30 minute program of standardised neck exercises performed simultaneously.

One month post-treatment 38.9% of the active electro-acupuncture versus 8.3% of the sham electro-acupuncture group reported pain reduction greater than 50%.

Ref: Clin J Pain. 2009 May;25(4):320-6

General information about shoulder problems

What is Electro-Acupuncture?