Table 1.
General characteristics of the included studies.
| Author (year) | Types of disease | Participants age (mean ± SD) | Sample size (N = total) | Intervention group (dilution ratio) | Control group | Duration (frequency / total period) | Major Acupoints |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cho et al. (2005) [14] | Post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain | A: 58.55 ± 15.07 B: 61.50 ± 10.98 |
N = 23 A = 11 B = 12 |
A: BVA + CT (AT, PT, WM, HM) (1:20,000) | B: ZG + CT (AT, PT, WM, HM) | 3 times a week/ 2 weeks | LI15, TE14, GB21, SI10 |
| Eom et al. (2006) [15] | Post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain | A: 69.2 ± 9.6 B: 67.3 ± 8.9 C: 67.7 ± 15.0 |
N = 30 A = 10 B = 10 C = 10 |
A: BVA (1:2,000) | B: AT with BV coating needle C: AT |
3 times a week/ 4 weeks | LI11, SI3, LI15, UE12, SI10 |
| Ko et al. (2007) [16] | Shoulder pain after stroke | A: 64.33 ± 9.88 B: 67.50 ± 9.60 |
N = 46 A = 24 B = 22 |
A: BVA + CT (AT, HM, MT, PT) (1:10,000) | B: Saline injection + CT (AT, HM, MT, PT) | 3 times a week/ 2 weeks | LI15, TE14, GB21 |
| Koh et al. (2013) [19] | Adhesive capsulitis | A: 54.95 ± 6.79 B: 56.18 ± 6.70 C: 55.13 ± 7.01 |
N = 68 A = 22 B = 23 C = 23 |
A: BVA + PT (1:10,000) B: BVA + PT (1:30,000) |
C: Saline injection + PT | 2 times a week/ 12 weeks | LI15，LI16, TE14, GB21, SI11, 5 additional points around the shoulder |
| Lee et al. (2006) [17] | Shoulder pain patients in stroke sequelae | A: 62.45 ± 9.2 B: 68 ± 10.4 |
N = 40 A = 20 B = 20 |
A: BVA + CT (AT, WM, HM, MT, PT) (1:4,000 and 1:10,000) | B: CT (AT, WM, HM, MT, PT) | 3 times a week/ 3 weeks | LI15, TE14, GB21, SI9, SI10, LI11, SI11, additional ashi points |
| Park et al. (2011) [18] | Post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain | A: 62.52 ± 12.20 B: 64.26 ± 11.11 |
N = 40 A = 21 B = 19 |
A: BVA + CT (AT, HM, MT, PT) (Not reported dilution ratio) | B: Saline injection + CT (AT, HM, MT, PT) | 3 times a week/ 4 weeks | LI15, TE14, GB21, SI10, additional ashi points |
| Park et al. (2014) [20] | Adhesive capsulitis | A: 55.4 ± 6.8 B: 52.8 ± 7.3 C: 56.4 ± 7.9 |
N = 60 A = 20 B = 22 C = 18 |
A: BVA + PT (1:10,000) B: BVA + PT (1:30,000) |
C: Saline injection + PT | 2 times a week/ 2 months one-year follow up | LI15，LI16, TE14, GB21, SI11, 5 additional points around the shoulder |
BVA, bee venom acupuncture; AT, acupuncture therapy; PT, physiotherapy; ZG, Zingiberis Rhizoma acupuncture therapy; BV, bee venom; HM, herbal medicine; MT, moxibustion; WM, western medicine; CT, conventional therapy.