Table 1.

Characteristics of Included Systematic Reviews, for Eligible Interventions

Review	Date of Search	Population No. Included Studies Mean Age % Male Time Post-Stroke (Mean)	Intervention	Comparison	Outcomes (Measurement Scale)
Appel et al (2014)26	2013, June	Adults with reduced upper limb function post-stroke 4 RCTs, 1 quasi-RCT Mean age (range): 62–79 % male: NR Post-stroke: NR	Shoulder strapping	Placebo/no strapping	Pain: pain intensity (VAS), pain-free days (RAI), upper limb function (MAS) QOL (SS-QOL)
Chau et al (2018)30	2017, August	Parallel or crossover RCTs, shoulder pain after stroke or shoulder–hand syndrome 19 RCTs conventional, 5 RCTs electro, 2 RCTs fire eedle, 1 RCT arm eedle Age: 42.8–69.5 years % male: 56.1 Time post-stroke: 17–29 days	Acupuncture Conventional Electro Fire Needle Warm Needle in addition to usual care	Usual care (including stroke rehabilitation, rehab exercises and herbal medicine)	Pain: pain intensity (“standard subjective scales” including VAS), pain-free external rotation (degrees) Function: upper limb function (FMA), physical function (Barthel index)
Koog et al (2010)32	2008, June	Shoulder pain post-stroke 1 RCT Age: 61.9 % male: 36.7 Time post-stroke: mostly ≤ 3 months	Aromatherapy (1 RCT)	Placebo or usual care (including acupressurea)	Pain: pain intensity (VAS35)
Lim et al (2015)28	2014, August	Shoulder pain post-stroke 3 RCTs Age: NR % male: NR Time post-stroke: NR	Bee venom acupuncture	Saline injection or usual care (1 RCT: AT, medications, moxibustion, physio)	Pain: pain intensity (VAS)
Nadler et al (2017)33	2016, March	Adults with shoulder pain post-stroke 1 RCT Mean age: NR % male: NR Time post-stroke: NR	Shoulder orthoses	Usual care	Pain: pain intensity (SHSS- pain)
Qiu et al (2019)31	2018, January	Hemiplegic shoulder pain 6 RCTs Mean age range: 53–66 years % male: NR Time post-stroke: 16.5 days – 2.1 years	Electrical stimulation Surface Percutaneous	Placebo (sham) and/or usual care (including physio, hemi sling, acupuncture)	Pain: pain intensity (VAS, BPI), pain-free external rotation (degrees) Function: activities of daily living (Barthel index)
Singh et al (2010)34,82	2010, January	Adults with shoulder spasticity post-stroke 4 RCTs Mean age: NR % male: NR Time post-stroke: NR	Botulinum toxin injection	Placebob	Pain: pain intensity (VAS or verbal rating scale), pain-free external rotation (degrees)

Notes: ^a Acupressure included as a component of standard care in both intervention and control arms. ^bTENS included as a component of standard care in both intervention and control arms in 1 trial.

Abbreviations: BPI, brief pain inventory; FMA, Fugl–Meyer Motor Assessment; MAS, Motor Assessment Scale; Physio, physiotherapy; NR, not reported; QOL, quality of life; RAI, Ritchie Articular Index; Rehab, rehabilitation; RCTs, randomized controlled trials; SHSS, Shoulder Hand Sub-Score; SS-QOL, Stroke Specific Quality of Life; VAS, visual analogue scale.