https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2023.11113

Needle contact test in auricular acupuncture for shoulder pain and where effective auricular acupoints identified are positioned on the map: A controlled study

Vol. 33 No. 1 (2023)
Submitted: 24 December 2022
Accepted: 26 February 2023
Published: 15 March 2023
Needle contact test, auricular acupuncture, ear acupuncture, shoulder pain trial
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Authors

Antonello Lovato
lovatoantonello@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5465-3646
Pain Therapy Clinic, Lonigo (VI), Italy; Italian Association for the Research and the Scientific Update (A.I.R.A.S.), Padua, Italy.
Marco Postiglione
Italian Association for the Research and the Scientific Update (A.I.R.A.S.), Padua, Italy.
Giuseppe Gagliardi
Italian Association for the Research and the Scientific Update (A.I.R.A.S.), Padua, Italy; Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Rovigo, Italy.
Moreno Parmagnani
Italian Association for the Research and the Scientific Update (A.I.R.A.S.), Padua, Italy; General practitioner, Minerbe (Verona), Italy.
Mario Biral
Italian Association for the Research and the Scientific Update (A.I.R.A.S.), Padua, Italy.
Francesco Ceccherelli
Department of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology, University of Padua, Italy.

Active Points Test on auricle was renamed Needle Contact Test (or NCT), considered an extremely effective method to select most efficient auricle acupoint for Auricular Acupuncture (or AA) therapy. Our aims were to evaluate NCT efficiency as viable diagnostic option to identify the most appropriate AA acupoints to be selected for SupraSpinatus Tendinopathy (SST) associated shoulder pain treatment and to evaluate which auricle area has greater concentration of NCT positive acupoints in subjects with SST shoulder pain, comparing results with available AA ear maps. 45 subjects with SST diagnosis were enrolled. On 30 subjects in treatment group, NCT was performed on acupoints of the auricle shoulder representation areas (i.e., Scaphoid Fossa), while in 15 subjects of control group, NCT was performed on auricle areas not shoulder associated. Statistically significant lower Numeric Pain Rating Scale scores were seen for study group over time and compared to control. A small sample showed statistically significant increase of SST shoulder maximum abduction range of Movements. NCT identified best SST shoulder pain AA acupoints in Scaphoid Fossa (or SF1 and SF2). In conclusion NCT is a viable tool to efficiently identify the best AA acupoints in SST shoulder pain treatment.

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How to Cite

Lovato, A., Postiglione, M., Gagliardi, G., Parmagnani, M., Biral, M., & Ceccherelli, F. (2023). Needle contact test in auricular acupuncture for shoulder pain and where effective auricular acupoints identified are positioned on the map: A controlled study. European Journal of Translational Myology, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2023.11113
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