The Effect of Acupuncture Using Specific Acupoints and Non-Acupoints in Non-Traumatic, Chronic Shoulder Pain: A Case Study

Chronic shoulder pain is one of the most common presentations of musculoskeletal pain in our community, which usually complicates or interferes with a person’s daily activities, social events, and overall quality of life. It is the leading cause of disability among middle-aged working individuals. It has been reported that until the present day, none of the conventional treatments has proved effective for chronic shoulder pain in the long term. Furthermore, there are considerable side effects, to varying degrees of these treatments. Acupuncture, as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has shown effective results in treating shoulder pain by minimizing the pain and improving range of motion and mobility. The present case involves four patients diagnosed with non-traumatic chronic shoulder pain. All the patients were given three acupuncture treatments per week, lasting 40 minutes for the duration of two weeks. Needling was inserted at six specific acupoints and five specific non-acupoints. Pain and mobility assessments were done before and twenty minutes after each treatment. The result shows positive effects of acupuncture using specific acupoints and specific non-acupoints in alleviating non-traumatic chronic shoulder pain. At the end of this study, their shoulder pain was greatly minimized, and their shoulder functionality improved remarkably. Although larger clinical intervention studies on the effect of acupuncture treatment on chronic shoulder pain due to non-traumatic injury are needed, the result of this case study indicates that acupuncture treatment using specific acupoints and specific non-acupoints can be an effective alternative therapy or treatment tool for patients with non-traumatic chronic shoulder pain.