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Acupuncture in the treatment of hand paresis in chronic and acute stroke patients - improvement observed in all cases

Department of Neurology and Aphasia Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston VA Medical Center

Michael P Alexander

Department of Neurology and Aphasia Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston VA Medical Center, and Department of Behavioral Neurology, Braintree Hospital, Braintree

Denise Stiassny-Eder

Department of Neurology and Aphasia Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston VA Medical Center

Linda Nobles Lannin

Rehabilitation Medicine Service, Boston VA Medical Center

David Bachman

Department of Neurology and Aphasia Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston VA Medical Center

This study reports the effect of acupuncture on the treatment of hand paresis in stroke patients who had no other proximal arm or leg paresis following stroke. The location of the area of infarction on a chronic CT scan was analysed in all cases.

Eight chronic stroke patients were treated with acupuncture beginning after six months to eight years following stroke; and three acute stroke patients were treated with acupuncture beginning after two months following stroke. Patients received 20 or 40 acupuncture treatments over a two- or three-month period. All patients had good response defined as improvement on at least four of six hand tests after 20 or 40 acupuncture treatments. Among the eight chronic cases, significant improvement was observed in timed hand dexterity tests, as well as pinch and grip strength tests. Most of the improvement was sustained for at least two months after the completion of acupuncture treatments. All patients had lesion in only half, or less than half of the motor pathway areas on CT scan.

Results suggest that acupuncture may be an additional beneficial treatment modality for stroke patients with hand paresis, even when started as late as five to eight years following stroke. The CT scan findings and results from this study support those from our previous acupuncture research with stroke patients where good response was observed in patients with lesion in less than half of the motor pathway areas and in patients with only mild/moderate hemiparesis. More controlled research with a larger number of patients appears warranted.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 8, No. 2, 127-141 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/026921559400800205


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