Rehabilitation Techniques for Motor Function
Acupuncture for stroke rehabilitation has exceptional value in the first 3 to 72 hours.
Acupuncture for Stroke Recovery
The World Health Organization estimates that 15 million individuals suffer from stroke annually worldwide, most of whom live in developed countries, where hypertension and cardiac diseases are prevalent. Stroke is the third leading cause of fatality and ranks highest as a cause of disability.
Acupuncture has exceptional value in the first 3 to 72 hours. Usually, about 72 hours after a stroke, cerebral edema starts to form and it is very damaging. Although the mechanism is not well understood, acupuncture triggers changes in the brain that result in the protection of brain cells from necrosis, thereby preventing or reducing edema and consequently promising a better prognosis.
Rehabilitation, like acupuncture, should also start as soon as vital signs are stable. This is particularly important for aphasia and dysphagia. Acupuncture works alongside other rehabilitation therapies including physiotherapy and speech therapy to reduce symptoms and promote normal mobility, speech & mental clarity again.
Concentration and repetition are necessary to provoke and reinforce neuro-plasticity in the brain. Therefore, to achieve speedy functional recovery after a stroke, intensive treatments are paramount. The frequency and duration of acupuncture treatments must be adequate especially in the first three months.
How Acupuncture Helps
Recent studies have shown acupuncture to be superior to conventional treatments, or to provide added value to them. This is particularly the case for post-stroke depression, aphasia, and dysphagia. Improvement in motor function has been witnessed repeatedly whilst working in Nepal with haemaplegia. Patients regained 20% movement to affected limb and 70% function of speech after 32 treatments.
Kimberley’s passion for integrated medicine started here. With limited support and resources to offer long-term rehabilitative care on the NHS, the need for multiple modalities to support stroke victims is needed more than ever. By creating a programme of talk therapy, physiotherapy and acupuncture; there is greater hope for the patients physical and emotional recovery.
Bells Palsy
Each year in the UK, around 1 in 5,000 people develop Bell’s palsy, which is characterised by unilateral facial weakness of rapid onset.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the diagnosis for Bell’s Palsy is termed “External Wind-Cold attacking the channels of the face”. According to TCM principles, one of the main implications of this condition is an underlying Qi (a person’s inherent energy) deficiency. In China, acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to assist in Bell’s Palsy recovery, and the initial treatment goal according to TCM would be to expel Wind and resolve Damp, as well as to invigorate Qi and promote blood circulation to the face. Consistent acupuncture treatments (usually recommended 2 x per week), can help soothe a patient and regain nerve function.
The use of concomitant auricular and acupuncture therapies, when implemented early in acute spinal cord injury, can contribute to significant neurological and functional recoveries. Many other clinical studies which have been highly cited and respected occurred before and after this groundbreaking research in oriental medicine, all of which determining the same conclusion. Acupuncture and massage in conjunction with physical therapy greatly improved the conditions of those suffering from a spinal cord injury.