Effects of thunder fire moxibustion combined with upper limb rehabilitation robot on shoulder pain,upper limb function,and musculoskeletal ultrasound indicators in patients with post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain
ZHANG Yu-mei
TANG Hui-ling
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of Thunder Fire Moxibustion combined with an upper limb reha-bilitation robot on shoulder pain,upper limb function,and musculoskeletal ultrasound indicators in patients with post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain(HSP),and to provide a novel therapeutic approach for relieving shoulder pain and im-proving upper limb function.Methods A total of 120 patients with HSP after stroke,treated at the Third Affiliated Hos-pital of Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from March 2022 to March 2024,were prospectively selected and randomly divided into three groups using a random number table:Thunder Fire Moxibustion Group(n=40),Reha-bilitation Robot Group(n=40),and Combination Group(n=40).All groups received conventional treatment and nurs-ing care.On this basis,the Thunder Fire Moxibustion Group received Thunder Fire Moxibustion treatment alone;the Re-habilitation Robot Group received upper limb rehabilitation robot intervention alone;and the Combination Group received both interventions simultaneously.The Numerical Rating Scale(NRS)was used to assess shoulder pain,the Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA)to evaluate upper limb motor function,musculoskeletal ultrasound to measure the acromion-to-greater tuberosity distance,and the Barthel Index(BI)to assess activities of daily living,before and after treatment.Results Before treatment,there were no significant differences in NRS,FMA,BI scores,or acromion-to-greater tu-berosity distance among the three groups(P＞0.05).After treatment,the Combination Group had significantly lower NRS scores(P＜0.05)and acromion-to-greater tuberosity distance(P＜0.05)compared with the Thunder Fire Moxibus-tion and Robot Groups.Additionally,the Combination Group had significantly higher FMA scores(P＜0.05)and BI scores(P＜0.05)than the other two groups.Conclusion The combination of Thunder Fire Moxibustion and upper limb rehabilitation robot effectively relieves shoulder pain,improves upper limb function,and enhances shoulder muscle con-traction ability in patients with post-stroke HSP.
Keywords：Thunder Fire Moxibustionupper limb rehabilitation robotpost-stroke hemiplegic shoulder painshoulder painupper limb functionmusculoskeletal ultrasound indicators
Publication Date：2025-05-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 702-706 )