Treatment outcomes in post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome: The role of combined acupuncture,traditional Chinese herb hot compress and rehabilitation training

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Acupuncture, traditional Chinese herb hot compress and rehabilitation training is useful in post-stroke shoulder–hand syndrome (SHS), but it is less commonly used in combination.

OBJECTIVE:

To analyse the therapeutic efficacy of a combination of acupuncture, traditional Chinese herb hot compress and rehabilitation training in SHS patients.

METHOD:

Patients diagnosed with post-stroke SHS and treated from January 2022 to March 2023 at Beijing Friendship Hospital and Beijing Pinggu Hospital were selected and randomly divided into three groups (A, B and C). Group A received conventional rehabilitative treatment (35 cases), Group B underwent conventional rehabilitative treatment $+$ acupuncture (35 cases), and Group C received conventional rehabilitative treatment $+$ acupuncture $+$ traditional Chinese herb hot compress treatment (35 cases). The post-treatment effectiveness rate, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, activities of daily living (ADL) score, Fugel–Meyer assessment (FMA) score, SHS assessment scale (SHSS) score and shoulder joint mobility were compared among the three groups.

RESULTS:

The post-treatment VAS score ( $F_{\text{VAS score}}=$ 232.512, $P<$ 0.001), FMA score ( $F_{\text{FMA score}}=$ 239.412, $P<$ 0.001), ADL score ( $F_{\text{ADL score}}=$ 412.634, $P<$ 0.001), SHSS score ( $F_{\text{SHSS score}}=$ 212.542, $P<$ 0.001) and shoulder joint mobility ( $F_{\text{Shoulder Joint Mobility}}=$ 197.531, $P<$ 0.001) all showed statistically significant differences. The VAS and SHSS scores decreased in the order of Group A $>$ Group B $>$ Group C, while the FMA, ADL and shoulder joint mobility scores increased in the order of Group C $>$ Group B $>$ Group A. The post-treatment effectiveness rates ( $\chi$ ²= 48.510, $P<$ 0.001) also exhibited statistically significant differences, decreasing in the order of Group C (94.29%) $>$ Group B (82.86%) $>$ Group A (71.43%).

CONCLUSION:

The treatment efficacy of the combined acupuncture, traditional Chinese herb hot compress and rehabilitation training for SHS patients is significant, warranting its clinical promotion.

Keywords

Acupuncture therapy stroke rehabilitation shoulder joint

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