• Hongyu Xie, Zhiqun Gao, Yinqiu Fan, Jie Shi, Youbin Tang, Bixiang Cha, Rong Shen, Pingping Xu, and Aihong Yuan.
• Second Department of Acupuncture Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Nov 11; 101 (45): e31703e31703.

BackgroundMotor dysfunction is a common sequela of ischemic stroke. This study aimed to explore the effective treatment of ischemic stroke by combining acupuncture and modern rehabilitation training.MethodsThis study was a single-center, randomized controlled clinical trial conducted at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 90 cases were finally included, divided into 45 cases each in the body acupuncture group and the head acupuncture group.InterventionsBoth groups received basic drug treatment, modern rehabilitation training, and basic life care guidance; the body acupuncture group was treated with reference to acupuncture points from the classic textbook of acupuncture and moxibustion, and the head acupuncture group was given Zhu's scalp acupuncture treatment based on the body acupuncture group. Primary outcome index: unassisted muscle strength grading scale; secondary outcome index: assessment of activities of daily living; simplified Fugl-Meyer motor function rating scale.ResultsThe Barthel scale score, Manual Muscle Testing scale score (upper and lower limbs), and simplified Fugl-Meyer scale score (upper and lower limbs) in the 2 groups were improved (P ≤ .05), and the efficacy of the head-acupuncture group was better than that of the body-acupuncture group (P ≤ .05); there was no significant improvement in the simplified Fugl-Meyer scale (hand) score in both groups (P ≥ .05). There was no significant improvement in these scores (P ≥ .05). The difference in efficiency between the 2 groups was not statistically significant (P ≤ .05), and the apparent efficiency in the cephalic needle group was higher than that in the body needle group (P ≤ .05).ConclusionsSimultaneous treatment with Zhu's scalp acupuncture and body acupuncture combined with modern rehabilitation training can significantly improve limb motor function in patients with ischemic stroke, and its efficacy is better than that of body acupuncture alone combined with modern rehabilitation training.Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

6 keywords...

hide…