Acupuncture and Trager psychophysical integration in the treatment of wheelchair user's shoulder pain in individuals with spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness of acupuncture and Trager Psychophysical Integration (a form of manual therapy) in decreasing chronic shoulder pain in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI).


METHODS
A prospective clinical trial, with subjects randomized to acupuncture or Trager treatment condition. Subjects served as their own controls by including a 5-week pretreatment baseline period and a 5-week posttreatment follow-up period.


METHODS
Rehabilitation hospital research department.


METHODS
Eighteen subjects with chronic SCI and chronic shoulder pain who used manual wheelchairs as their primary means of mobility.


METHODS
Ten acupuncture or 10 Trager treatments over a 5-week period.


METHODS
Changes in performance-corrected Wheelchair User's Shoulder Pain Index (PC-WUSPI) scores during baseline, treatment, and follow-up periods were assessed by using analysis of variance.


RESULTS
The mean PC-WUSPI score +/- standard deviation of the 18 subjects at entry was 48.9 +/- 24.6 (range, 8.0-94). No significant change in mean PC-WUSPI scores occurred during the pretreatment baseline period. Mean PC-WUSPI scores decreased significantly during the treatment period in both the acupuncture (53.4%; 23.3 points) and Trager (53.8%; 21.7 points) treatment groups. The reduced PC-WUSPI scores were maintained in both groups throughout the 5-week posttreatment follow-up period.


CONCLUSIONS
Acupuncture and Trager are both effective treatments for reducing chronic shoulder pain associated with functional activities in persons with SCI.
Dyson-Hudson
T A
TA
Center for Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corp, West Orange, NJ 07052, USA. tdyson-hudson@kmrrec.org
Shiflett
S C
SC
Kirshblum
S C
SC
Bowen
J E
JE
Druin
E L
EL
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011603:Psychophysiology / Q000379:methods*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014910:Wheelchairs
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal