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Comparative Efficacy of Canggui Tanxue Acupuncture Combined with Scapular Stabilization Training versus Scapular
Yining Geng1, Manping Song1, Bing Huang1
1Department of Acupuncture, Hainan General Hospital, Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
Aim:
To evaluate the clinical efficacy of combining Canggui Tanxue acupunc-ture combined with scapular stabilization training (SST) versus SST alone for mild-to-moderate rotator cuff injuries (RCI) in a real-world clinical setting.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study analyzed 160 patients with mild-to-moderate RCI treated at Department of Acupuncture, Hainan General Hospital between January 2024 and June 2025. Patients were categorized into two groups based on treatment received: SST alone (Control group, n = 80) and SST plus Canggui Tanxue acupuncture (Combination group, n = 80). Primary outcomes included shoulder function (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons [ASES] score), pain intensity (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]), active range of motion (ROM), quality of life (Short Form-36 [SF-36]), and clinical efficacy rates. Data were extracted from electronic medical records.
Results:
The Combination group demonstrated significantly superior outcomes compared to the Control group: higher ASES scores (93.31 ± 9.09 vs. 81.42 ± 8.45, P < 0.001), lower VAS scores (2.09 ± 0.48 vs. 3.52 ± 0.93, P < 0.001), greater ROM improvements (e.g. external rotation: 80.40 ± 8.22 vs. 65.59 ± 7.86, P < 0.001), and higher SF-36 scores (80.51 ± 8.48 vs. 65.44 ± 8.29, P < 0.001). Clinical efficacy rates were superior in the Combina-tion group (excellent: 76.25% vs. 47.50%; total efficacy: 93.75% vs. 77.50%, P < 0.001). Effect sizes were large for ASES (Cohen's d=1.42) and VAS (d=-1.89). The number needed to treat (NNT) for achieving excellent efficacy was 3.48.
Conclusions And Implications:
The study demonstrates that integrating Canggui Tanxue acupuncture with SST yields clinically meaningful improvements in shoulder function, pain relief, and quality of life for mild-to-moderate RCI patients, surpassing SST alone. These findings support the adoption of this combined approach in routine clinical practice, particularly given its high efficacy (NNT = 3.48) and large effect sizes.
