Clinical effectiveness of bee venom acupuncture and physiotherapy in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Bee venom acupuncture (BVA) has been used in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis (AC) in the clinical field. This study aimed to investigate whether the addition of BVA to physiotherapy (PT) would be more effective in the management of AC, and whether BVA would have a dose-dependent effect.


METHODS
Sixty-eight patients diagnosed with AC were recruited into 3 groups; BV 1 (1:10,000 BVA plus PT), BV 2 (1:30,000 BVA plus PT), and group 3 (normal saline (NS) injection, as a control, plus PT). PT was composed of 15 minutes of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), transcutaneous infrared thermotherapy (TDP), and manual PT. Treatments were given in 16 sessions within 2 months. Shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI), pain visual analogue scale (VAS), and 3) active/passive range of motion (ROM) were measured before treatment and at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the treatment.


RESULTS
All 3 groups showed statistically significant improvements in SPADI, pain VAS scores, and active/passive ROM. The BV 1 group showed significantly better outcomes in SPADI at 8 and 12 weeks, in pain VAS (at rest) at 8 weeks, and in pain VAS (during exercise) at 12 weeks than the NS group. No significant differences were found in active/passive ROM among all the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
BVA in combination with PT can be more effective in improving pain and function than PT alone in AC. However, the effectiveness of BVA was not shown in a dose-dependent manner.
Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, Center for Arthritis & Rheumatism, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, South Korea.
Pil Seong
PS
Koh
Byung Kwan
BK
Seo
Nam Su
NS
Cho
Hyung Soon
HS
Park
Dong Suk
DS
Park
Yong Hyeon
YH
Baek
D026881:Acupuncture; D000328:Adult; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002062:Bursitis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012785:Shoulder Joint; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D001514:Bee Venoms
Adhesive capsulitis; Level I; Randomized Controlled Trial; Treatment Study; bee venom acupuncture; physiotherapy