Acupuncture for Rotator Cuff Injury

Rotator cuff tendinitis is an injury that plagues athletes and non-athletes alike. It most often occurs from repetitive actions like throwing a ball, lifting, or even sitting at a computer. But the good news is that acupuncture can help. Acupuncture has proven to be a safe and effective method for treating rotator cuff injuries.

What is the rotator cuff?

Gray412 Acupuncture for Rotator Cuff Injury The rotator cuff consists of four muscles that connect the shoulder to the humerus of the arm: the suprspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis muscle. These muscles stabilize the arm while it moves.

How does an injury develop?

Rotator cuff tendinitis is an injury to the tendons, but the muscles can also be injured. Injuries can develop from an acute sudden injury like falling or lifting something too heavy. As I mentioned, it can also happen from repetitive movements like throwing a ball.

From the injury, one may develop pain, weakness, difficultly moving the arm, and irritation. If left untreated, it may become worse. Due to lack of motion of the arm, you may loose muscles mass and develop long term weakness.

Acupuncture and rotator cuff tendinitis

Acupuncture works great for rotator cuff tendinitis. First, it works by increasing the circulation to the area and decreasing inflammation in the tendons. Secondly, acupuncture is thought to stimulate regrowth of the cells and tissues in an injured area. And acupuncture also helps to reduce pain. Sometimes in pain conditions, the central nervous system remembers the pain, even if the injury is healed. Acupuncture helps to reteach the brain and nervous system to be healthy again.

Research on Acupuncture for Rotator Cuff Tendinitis

There is a wonderful study done on acupuncture for rotator cuff tendinitis published in 1999 in the journal Pain.

52 people were enrolled and received acupuncture 2 times per week for 4 weeks. In this study, they used an interesting placebo needle. When the acupuncturist goes to insert the needle, the tip of it retracts, so there is no needle insertion. The acupuncture group’s pain was reduced much more than the placebo acupuncture group.

I think even better results can be obtained with the inclusion of acupressure, which I regularly do in my treatment for shoulder pain. In addition to acupuncture and acupressure, it is important to include stretches and exercises to prevent he pain from returning.

Photos: Wikipedia

This entry was posted on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 8:40 am and is filed under Acupuncture, Chronic Pain Relief. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can trackback from your own site.

10 Responses for "Acupuncture for Rotator Cuff Injury"

Acupuncture Stimulates the Body to Heal Itself | Alban Acupuncture & Chinese Herbs Clinic, New York City August 24th, 2009 at 8:34 am

[...] This is the second in a series of articles explaining what is acupuncture and how it works. [...]
Ian Disney January 17th, 2010 at 5:18 pm

Dear Dr Albana,

I just read your post on Acupuncture for Rotator Cuff Injury with great interest as I have been suffering fro over 6 months with no positive results from western medicine. Unfortunately I am in Europe, not the US, but will find a good acupuncturist and commence treatment. In your post you mentioned you will write next about the three essential shoulder stretches for shoulder and rotator cuff rehabilitation but I have been unable to find it. I would appreciate very much if you give me a link to this post. Thanking you.

Sincerely,

Ian Disney
admin February 10th, 2010 at 12:11 pm

Hello Ian,

Thanks for your comment and thanks for reading. I’m sorry I never had a chance to post the article on the shoulder stretches. I am working on it now and I will post it in the next 2 weeks.

Best,
Joe
MartialArtsHouston December 6th, 2010 at 10:15 pm

Thanks for the tips. I am looking for alternative medicine treatments to my rotator cuff tendonitis as my doctor has been unable to help me. Maybe acupuncture is the way?

I have had acupuncture done before when in Japan, but do you have any recommendations for a acupuncturist in Houston?
admin December 22nd, 2010 at 10:47 am

Hello,

Yes, I think acupuncture can be very helpful for tendonitis and sports injuries. Sorry I do not know anyone in Houston, but I am sure there are some very good acupuncturists there. I would recommend contacting the state acupuncture society for a recommendation.

Best,
Joseph
pam February 11th, 2011 at 12:17 am

Hello, I have a friend who has severe pain from a partial tear rc. Would this be a situation where acupuncture could help as it does with the tendinitis? She has severe pain between her shoulders but the,pain in her shoulder has been building up to those for a couple of months. She is not inclined to alternative therapy, but I feel characterizing it as complementary therapy may eventually help her see the benefits of the treatment. Thanks, Pam
admin February 24th, 2011 at 3:46 pm

Hello Pam,

Yes, acupuncture can help tendonitis. Acupuncture can help to reduce inflammation and benefit circulation. I would suggest finding a practitioner in your area and making an appointment.

Best,
Joseph
Linda April 8th, 2011 at 6:05 pm

I have had electro accupuncture treatment but it hasn’t been consistent due to my doctor has had some emergencies. I had two treatments the first week, then had to skip a week and then another two treatments. How many treatments does it normally take to feel some effects? I am not feeling any benefit yet. Not sure if it is due to scattered treatments or just need more time. I look forward to your opinion.
Malcolm Hoznour July 31st, 2011 at 7:59 pm

In this awesome scheme of things you’ll get a B+ with regard to effort and hard work. Where you actually lost me was in your specifics. As it is said, the devil is in the details… And that could not be much more true at this point. Having said that, let me inform you what exactly did work. Your authoring is actually very persuasive which is probably why I am making an effort to opine. I do not really make it a regular habit of doing that. 2nd, despite the fact that I can easily notice a leaps in reason you make, I am not necessarily convinced of how you seem to unite your ideas which inturn produce your final result. For now I shall yield to your point however trust in the future you link the dots better.
Nor March 30th, 2012 at 4:53 am

I had a lot of pain on my shoulder, due to a rotator cuff tear, for 7 months, and my doctor just prescribed pain pills and & some phys. therapy nothing helped I got to the point I couldn’t move my arm & was in excruciating pain all the time. I’ve been receiving electro acupuncture 2 times a week for 7 wks. now and the pain has decreased significantly, I felt the difference since the first time, my arm is also getting stronger My acupuncturist also recommended some exercises I really hope this can help regain movement of my arm.