SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Experimental Therapeutics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1576595
Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Combined with Rehabilitation Training for Post-stroke Shoulder-hand Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yantai, China
- 2Shijingshan Teaching Hospital of Capital Medical University,Beijing Shijingshan Hospital, Beijing, China
- 3Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
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Background: Post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) significantly impacts patients' quality of life and functional recovery. While both acupuncture and rehabilitation training have shown promise individually, their combined effect needs systematic evaluation. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Sinomed, CNKI, and Wanfang) for randomized controlled trials comparing combined acupuncture-moxibustion-rehabilitation therapy versus rehabilitation alone. The primary outcomes included Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scale, visual analogue scale (VAS), and Barthel Index (BI) scores. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool.Results: Twenty-seven randomized controlled trials involving 2175 participants were included. Meta-analysis showed significant improvements in the combination therapy group compared to rehabilitation alone: VAS score (SMD = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.19-2.06), FMA scale (SMD = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.41-2.15), and BI/MBI scores (SMD = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.48-1.54). The combination therapy also showed superior effects on swelling reduction (SMD = -1.75, 95% CI: -2.08, -1.42) and total response rate (RR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.01-1.44). Most studies demonstrated low to moderate risk of bias.The combination of acupuncture and moxibustion with rehabilitation training appears to be more effective than rehabilitation alone for post-stroke SHS, improving motor function, pain relief, and activities of daily living. However, high heterogeneity warrants careful interpretation and further high-quality studies.
Keywords: Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Rehabilitation, Stroke, Shoulder-hand syndrome, Meta-analysis
Received: 28 Feb 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Li, Chen, Shen and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huawei Gao, Shandong College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yantai, China
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