Objective To observe the correlation between analgesic effect and duration of analgesic effect of superficial needling for shoulder pain of shoulderhand syndrome（SHS） after stroke, so as to screen the best time period of analgesia. Methods A total of 120 patients with SHS after stroke（stage I） were recruited and superficial needling therapy was applied. Two obvious tenderness points on the affected shoulder of patients were found out. The site 80–100 mm down each tenderness point was selected for superficial needling. Bimanual needling technique was applied after inserting needles. The surrounding of tenderness points was pinched and grasped by left hand above the needling, and the technique of green dragon swaying tail was applied by right hand. The needles at each acupoint were manipulated for3 min and retained for 30 min. The analgesic effect was evaluated dynamically by visual analogue scale（VAS） in 120 patients before treatment, immediately after treatment, 30 min after treatment, 1 h after treatment and 24 h after treatment. The analgesic effects at different time were statistically analyzed by generalized estimating equation. Results The mean values of VAS were 7.483, 3.950, 4.767, 5.917 and 7.217, respectively, before treatment, immediately after treatment, 30 min after treatment, 1 h after treatment and 24 h after treatment. The difference of analgesic effect at different time was statistically significant（P〈0.01）; the difference of analgesic effect of superficial needling in treatment of SHS after stroke was significant between immediately after treatment and 30 min after treatment（both P〈0.05）, while there was no significant difference between 1 h after treatment and 24 h after treatment（both P〈0.05）. Conclusion Analgesic effect of superficial needling for shoulder pain of SHS after stroke was different at different time points and decreased over time; analgesic effect was the most significant immediately after treatment and the optimal duration of analgesic effect was f
