Efficacy of traditional Chinese herbal fumigation steam therapy combined with functional exercise on post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of Chinese herbal fumigation steam therapy (CHFST) combined with functional exercise on post-stroke hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP).

Methodology: This is a retrospective case-control analysis, with case data selected from 136 HSP patients who received treatment at Suzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from January 2024 to January 2025. Among them, 68 patients who received Chinese herbal fumigation steam therapy (CHFST) combined with functional exercise were matched in a 1:1 ratio with a cohort receiving functional exercise alone, both in addition to routine care. The changes in shoulder pain, shoulder joint range of motion and upper limb motor function, as well as the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) scores of the two groups, were evaluated after four weeks of intervention.

Results: The degree of shoulder joint pain in the CHFST group was significantly lower than that in the control group after two and four weeks (P<0.05). The range of motion for shoulder flexion, extension, abduction and external rotation in the CHFST group was higher and the FMA-UE score of upper limb motor function was better than that in the control group after four weeks (P<0.05). Similarly, after four weeks, the WHOQOL-BREF score in the CHFST group was significantly higher compared to the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The combination of CHFST and functional exercise therapy for HSP can more effectively alleviate pain, improve upper limb motor function, shoulder joint mobility and quality of life of patients than the routine treatment regimen.