Randomized controlled trial of meridian-specific medicinal cupping therapy for hemiplegic shoulder pain
HUANG Changyu
YING Dandan
Abstract：Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy,upper limb functional recovery,pain degree,activities of daily living,and satisfaction of patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain(HSP)using meridian-specific medicinal cupping therapy.Methods A total of 124 HSP patients hospitalized in the Department of Rehabilitation,Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province from August 2023 to August 2024 were selected.According to the inclusion/exclusion criteria,44 cases were excluded and the remaining 80 cases were taken as the research subjects.They were divided into the control group(n=40)and the intervention group(n=40)according to the random number table method.The control group received standard rehabilitation therapy,and the intervention group received standard rehabilitation combined with meridian-specific medicinal cupping therapy.Both groups underwent a 4-week intervention.The patient satisfaction after 4 weeks of intervention was compared.The therapeutic effects,Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA),shoulder function score,Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),and Barthel Index(BI)were compared before the intervention and 4 weeks after the intervention.The occurrence of adverse reactions between the two groups was also compared.Results Compared with the control group,the intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in total effective rate(92.50％vs 50.00％,P＜0.05),FMA scores[(54.52±2.15)points vs(47.59±1.50)points,P＜0.05],shoulder function score[(73.10±2.60)points vs(63.79±2.45)points,P＜0.05],BI scores[(78.84±3.75)points vs(63.13±3.14)points,P＜0.05],and satisfaction(85.00％vs 62.50％,P＜0.05).Concurrently,the intervention group exhibited significantly lower VAS scores[(3.83±0.22)points vs(5.06±0.38)points,P＜0.05].There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion Meridian-specific medicinal cupping therapy demonstrates superior clinical efficacy in the treatment of HSP,effectively enhancing patients'activities of daily living,promoting upper limb motor recovery,improving shoulder joint function,alleviating pain perception,and achieving high patient satisfaction,which is worthy of clinical application and promotion in the treatment of HSP.
Keywords：strokeshoulder paintraditional Chinese medicine therapycupping therapycombined modality therapymotor functionactivities of daily livingrandomized controlled trial
Publication Date：2025-09-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 1230-1235 )