Effects of Yi Jin Bang Exercise and Usual Exercise Therapy in Adults With Subacromial Pain Syndrome

Shoulder pain is the third most common type of musculoskeletal disorder after back and neck pain in primary care. The prevalence of shoulder pain has been reported between 7% and 26% in the general population, with a life prevalence of up to 67%. The most common cause of shoulder pain is subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS), accounting for 44-60% of all shoulder disorders. Pain caused by SAPS can cause functional impairment and heavy social burden. Before recommending surgery, exercise therapy should be used as the first choice to treat SAPS. Several systematic reviews suggested that supervised exercise therapy can effectively improve the function and pain of patients with SAPS, while several other systematic reviews illustrated that the equal effectiveness of supervised exercises and home-based exercises. Supervised exercise therapy requires substantial and specific resources and may be difficult to apply clinically. Thus, a home-based self-training program may allow individuals to treat SAPS with affordable and easily accessible treatments. The use of complementary and alternative medicine treatment is growing continuously. Yi Jin Bang is a form of mind-body exercise and was developed in Hong Kong in the 1950s based on the principle of traditional Chinese mind-body exercise "Yi Jin Jing". In Chinese, Yi means change, Jin means tendons and sinews, while Bang means stick. As with all other Chinese medical exercises, the focus of Yi Jin Bang is on the cultivation of Qi (energy), which is assumed to harmonize mind and body and so might reduce pain. After reorganizing by physiotherapists, Yi Jin Bang has now become an easy-to-learn exercise program. Many scientific studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of mind-body exercises on pain, such as yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong. However, the efficacy of Yi Jin Bang exercise in SAPS is not scientifically evaluated. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to compare the effectiveness of ten weeks of home-based Yi Jin Bang