Acupuncture for Stroke Recovery
A stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when there is a bleed or blood clot within the blood vessels of the brain. This can lead to paralysis, confusion, incoherent speech, seizures or death. The rehabilitation after stroke involves occupational/physical therapy and pharmaceuticals.
TCM (Traditional Chinese medicine) has been used for post stroke treatment for thousands of years. It benefits stroke recovery by restoring the flow of qi and blood in the body to nourish the cells and inhibit further destruction of tissue. Most of the damage occurs during and soon after stroke so initiating treatment quickly is crucial for the most positive outcome. The ideal time to begin stroke recovery using acupuncture is within the first 3 days, if not sooner. Alongside other western medicine applications, acupuncture treatments should be 2-3 times per week.
Current evidence explains some of the mechanisms of acupuncture in treating stroke patients. A 2016 systematic review and meta analysis found that acupuncture ameliorates neurological deficits of stroke by promoting nerve cell production and the reduction of edema in the brain. Inhibiting edema can help prevent cell death in the brain.
Another review published in 2021 evaluated MRI results from stroke patients who had received a course of acupuncture. The MRI analyses showed that acupuncture modulates whole brain neuron-connectivity resulting in enhanced functional ability in stroke patients.
Further evidence supports acupuncture’s ability to improve disrupted sleep post stroke. There is also evidence that acupuncture provides relief from mood issues in stroke patients, such as anxiety and depression.
References:
Lee SH, Lim SM. Acupuncture for insomnia after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2016;16:228. Published 2016 Jul 19. doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1220-z
Lu L, Zhang XG, Zhong LL, et al. Acupuncture for neurogenesis in experimental ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2016;6:19521. Published 2016 Jan 20. doi:10.1038/srep19521
Zhang J, Lu C, Wu X, Nie D, Yu H. Neuroplasticity of Acupuncture for Stroke: An Evidence-Based Review of MRI. Neural Plast. 2021;2021:2662585. Published 2021 Aug 19. doi:10.1155/2021/2662585
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