A Clinical Study Of Fire Needle Therapy Combined With Electro-acupuncture For Treatment Of Shoulder-hand Syndrome After Apoplexy

ObjectiveApoplexy, or stroke, is consist of cerebral hemorrhage and infarction. Its high incidence and disability rate is taking tremendous sufferance to both the patients and their families. Shoulder-hand syndrome, being one of the most common complications of apoplexy, has also become one of the most important factors that decelerate the recovery of the function of the affected limb. Acupuncture treating SHS take unique advantage over the other treatments on account of its effectiveness. Yet consider of its disadvantages, it’s necessary to seek for other therapy that is more simple and more effective. This will provide new treating method to the treatment of SHS, and provide better living standard to apoplexy sufferers.This thesis is to observe and compare the distinctness of pain, swelling, function recovery before and after being treated by electro-acupuncture only and electro-acupuncture together with fire needle therapy, in order to evaluate the clinical efficacy of fire needle therapy in treating shoulder-hand syndrome after apoplexy, which can help extend the application of fire needle therapy, and to find a new acupuncture method with approving effectiveness and convenient manipulation for the treatment of SHS.Method60cases of shoulder-hand syndrome after apoplexy were gathered from the In-patient and Out-patient Department of Acupuncture in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine according to the diagnostic criteria, inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. They were randomly divided into experiment group(n=30), treated by both electro-acupuncture and fire needle therapy, and control group(n=30), treated by electro-acupuncture only. The improvement of pain and swelling as well as the function of the upper limb were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of fire needle therapy in treating SHS.Results1. Effectiveness:The comparisons of pain, swelling and upper limb movement function scores before and after receiving treatments were made by paired t-test, the differences between each group were significant.(P<0.05)2. Pain:The comparison of the VAS scores were adopted independent t-test, and there was no significant difference between two groups before receiving treatments (P>0.05).The two groups had comparability. After the treatment, there were obvious differences between the experiment group and the control group.(P<0.05)3. Swelling:There were no significant difference between two groups in Swelling scores before receiving treatments (P>0.05), and the two groups had comparability. After the treatment, there were obvious differences between the experiment group and the control group.(P<0.05)4.Upper limb movement function:The comparison of the FMA scores were adopted independent t-test, and there was no significant difference between two groups before receiving treatments (P>0.05).The two groups had comparability. After the treatment, there were obvious differences between the experiment group and the control group.(P<0.05)5. Evaluation of therapeutic effects:Amount the30cases of the experiment group,5were cured,14had obvious effect,9had improved,2were ineffective, and the total effective rate was93.33%. Amount the30cases of the control group,4were cured,7had obvious effect,12had improved,7were ineffective, and the total effective rate was76.67%. Compared the total effective rate between the two groups, significant difference can be seen (P=0.045).ConclusionsBoth experiment group and control group received approving results, which means both electro-acupuncture and fire needle therapy can improve clinical symptoms of shoulder-hand syndrome after apoplexy. Yet fire needle therapy can have better effect, and is easier to operate. This can become a considerable method in the treatment of SHS.