Disclosures: Deepthi Ganta, MD: Nothing to disclose

Objective: Investigate acupuncture effects on pain, range of motion (ROM), and performing basic daily activities (ADLs) in patients with chronic Shoulder Impingement Syndrome (SIS).

Design: Prospective Case Series.

Setting: Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic.

Participants: 12 Patients with chronic SIS, pain Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score of at least six, decreased ROM, difficulty performing ADLs, failed past physical therapy (PT) and oral medications, and no previous acupuncture treatments done on problematic shoulder.

Interventions: Patients received standard physical therapy (PT) and six acupuncture treatment sessions, which encompass battlefield protocol of ear (five-auricular-points specific for pain) and five-needle-technique of shoulder. Patient progress evaluated from 7/18 to 11/18 using physical exam (PE), VAS, and Western-Ontario-Rotator-Cuff (WORC) scale.

Main Outcome Measures: PE, VAS, and WORC scale. WORC scale is a self-administering health questionnaire that has 21 questions exploring five domains including Physical Symptoms, Sports and Recreation function, Work function, Social function, and Emotions. The score can be obtained by subtracting the total points from max 2100 and divide it by 21. Total WORC score can range from 0% (lowest functional status level) to 100% (highest functional status level).

Results: All 12 patients reported significant pain relief, increase ROM, and improved basic ADLs performance, which is evident in their physical exam. There was decreasing trend in VAS score with range of 2 to 3 by third treatment and average of 2.5 VAS score at completion. WORC scale showed an increase in functional status level with average of 49.75% at completion. No major adverse events were reported. Three patients had minuscule bleeding at needle removal site for two or three seconds, bleeding stopped spontaneously without intervention. Five patients reported redness around acupuncture points used for short period of time.

Conclusions: It is clearly evident that acupuncture is beneficial adjunctive treatment in addition to PT in treating chronic SIS in terms of pain relief, increasing ROM, and improving basic ADLs.

Level of Evidence: Level I

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/acupuncture-is-it-a-valid-medical-intervention-for-shoulder-impingement-syndrome-a-prospective-case-series-investigatory-study/