stroke Archives - Rivernorth Acupuncture

Acupuncture for Dysphagia after Stroke

Reading time:3 mins read

Systematic Review on Acupuncture for Treatment of Dysphagia after Stroke.

Objective: To assess the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture for dysphagia after stroke.

Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched from their inception until 31 September 2016. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) incorporating acupuncture or acupuncture combined with other interventions for treatment of dysphagia after stroke were enrolled. Then they were extracted
and assessed by two independent evaluators. Direct comparisons were conducted in RevMan 5.3.0 software.

Results: 6010 patients of 71 papers were included. The pooled analysis of efficacy rate of 58 studies indicated that acupuncture group was superior to the control group with moderate heterogeneity (RR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.13 1.21, 𝑍 = 9.08, and 𝑃 < 0.00001); meta-analysis of the studies using blind method showed that the efficacy rate of acupuncture group was 3.01 times that of control group with no heterogeneity (RR = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.95 4.65, 𝑍 = 4.97, and 𝑃 < 0.00001). Only 13 studies mentioned the safety evaluation.

Conclusion: The result showed that the acupuncture group was better than control group in terms of efficacy rate of dysphagia after stroke. And the combining result of those researches using blind method was more strong in proof. Strict evaluation standard and high-quality RCT design are necessary for further exploration.

Acupuncture on shoulder hand syndrome

Reading time:4 mins read

Traditional manual acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke within the Chinese healthcare system: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of traditional manual acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy versus rehabilitation therapy alone for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials that compared the combined effects of traditional manual acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy to rehabilitation therapy alone for shoulder hand syndrome after stroke were included. Two reviewers independently screened the searched records, extracted the data and assessed risk of bias of the included studies. The treatment effect sizes were pooled in a meta-analysis using RevMan 5.3 software.

Results: A total of 20 studies involving 1918 participants were included in this study. Compared to rehabilitation therapy alone, the combined therapy significantly reduced pain on the visual analogue scale and improved limb movement on the Fugl–Meyer Assessment scale and the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) on the Barthel Index scale or Modified Barthel Index scale. Of these, the visual analogue scale score changes were significantly higher (mean difference = 1.49, 95% confidence interval = 1.15–1.82, P < 0.00001) favoring the combined therapy after treatment, with severe heterogeneity (I2 = 71%, P = 0.0005).

Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that traditional manual acupuncture integrated with rehabilitation therapy is more effective in alleviating pain, improving limb movement and activities of daily living.

Keywords: Traditional manual acupuncture, rehabilitation therapy, shoulder hand syndrome, stroke