[1]Department of Acupuncture, Takarazuka University of Medical and Health Care
Rotator Cuff Tears in elderly patients often require a longer recovery period regardless of the type of treatment, i.e., conservative or surgical. Geriatric patients do not often regain the pre-injury range of motion (ROM) in the shoulders.
In this case, however, a full recovery of the shoulder ROM was achieved in two months, a full month shorter than expected, with frequent moxibustion being the sole treatment. The heat shock proteins (HSPs) are produced in response to moxibustion. HSPs play cytoprotective roles by sup-pressing protein denaturation and repairing protein damage. Moxibustion induces vasodilation that leads to an increase in blood flow, which in turn fosters tissue repair.
From these, it is considered that in this case, the heat stimuli̶administered by frequently-repeated moxibustion to the skin surface̶extended deeper into the injured region, and induced the tissue re-pair responses which led to an early recovery.
Keyword: rotator cuffs, moxibustion, vasodilation, shortened treatment period, subluxation of the long head of the biceps tendon
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