Acupuncture and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are common conservative treatment methods for scapulohumeral periarthritis. This study was a prospective non-RCT and patients with scapulohumeral periarthritis were divided into the control group (orally intake of celecoxib) and acupuncture group (acupuncture at the points of acromion, acromion and anterior shoulder), and the patients in each group were further divided into three subgroups of mild, moderate and severe pain according to visual analog scale (VAS). This study aimed to compare the efficacies of the two treatments on scapulohumeral periarthritis with different pain degrees. Indicators included the VAS, Constant shoulder score, range of motion (ROM), etc. The results showed that in patients with mild and moderate pain, there was no significant difference in VAS or Constant scores between the two groups, but the ROM of the acupuncture group was more improved. In patients with severe pain, the VAS of the acupuncture group was higher than that of the control group, and its Constant score was lower than that of the control group, no difference of ROM was found between the two groups. This study suggests that the acupuncture treatment acquires a better efficacy in patients with scapulohumeral periarthritis who had a mild to moderate pain, while NSAIDs acquires a better efficacy in patients with severe pain.

scapulohumeral periarthritis  /  acupuncture treatment  /  non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs  /  degree of pain  /  range of motion of shoulder joint