Nerve Stimulation Of Visual Acupotomy Combined With Acupuncture For Hemiplegic Limb Dysfunction After Cerebral Infarction

Objective:Based on the traditional acupuncture,this study treated patients’ hemiplegia after cerebral infarction with acupotomy guided by musculoskeletal ultrasound.By observing the clinical indexes before treatment,after first treatment,and after four weeks of treatment,we determined the efficacy of acupuncture combined with nerve stimulation of visual acupotomy in the rehabilitation process of hemiplegia induced by cerebral infarction and thus to produce ideas and methods for visual acupotomy technology for patients with hemiplegia after cerebral infarction.Method:The study included 60 patients from Acupuncture rehabilitation department and Neurology department of Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine and was a randomized controlled trial.Once in the trial,patients were randomly assigned to visual acupotomy group and acupuncture group and each group contained 30 patients.Patients from each group received conventional pharmacotherapy,and rehabilitation.Patients from acupuncture group recieved acupuncture once daily,five times per week and for 4 weeks.Patients from visual acupotomy group were treated with visual acupotomy under B-ultrasound guidance after admission in addition to acupuncture after entering the group.Muscle strength,Modified Ashworth Scales(MAS),Ueda Classification of limbs function,National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NHISS),Activities of Daily Living(ADL)were observed before treatment,after first treatment,and after four weeks of treatment.Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS 19.0.Results:(1)Baseline information:There were no differences in baseline data between the two groups(P>0.05).(2)Efficacy assessment:①Muscle strength grades:The efficacy of the visual acupotomy group in improving muscle strength of upper limbs and lower limbs was better than that of the acupuncture group after first treatment(P<0.05,P<0.05).However,no difference was observed after four weeks of treatment(P<0.05,P<0.05).②MAS grades:The curative effect of the visual acupotomy group was not significantly different from that of the acupuncture group after first treatment and four weeks of treatment.③Ueda Classification of limbs function:After first treatment and four weeks of treatment,the scores of upper limbs,lower limbs in the visual acupotomy group were significantly improved compared with those before the treatment(P<0.01,P<0.01);the scores of upper and lower limbs in the visual acupotomy group after first treatment and four weeks of treatment were significantly higher than those in the acupuncture group(P<0.01,P<0.01);the grade of hands between two groups were not different.④NHISS scores:After first treatment and four weeks of treatment,scores of visual acupotomy group were significantly decreased(P<0.01,P<0.01).After first treatment,the scores between two groups were not different(P>0.05).After four weeks of treatment,the scores of the visual acupotomy group was significantly lower than that of acupuncture group(P<0.01).⑤ADL scores:After first treatment and four weeks of treatment,scores of visual acupotomy group were significantly increased(P<0.01,P<0.01).Scores of the visual acupotomy group was significantly higher than that of the acupuncture group after first treatment and four weeks of treatment(P<0.01,P<0.01).Conclusion:Compared with acupuncture,nerve stimulation of visual acupotomy combined with acupuncture can improve the muscle strength of patients rapidly,and its immediate effect was obvious,but its short-term effect was not significant.There is no difference between this therapy and acupuncture in improving the muscle tension of patients.Its immediate effect and short-term effect are better than acupuncture in improving the limb function of patients with hemiplegia after cerebral infarction,However,significant difference was not observed in the improvement of hand function between the two groups.In terms of the improvement of neurological deficit,the short-term effect of this therapy was better than that of acupuncture group.In terms of the improvement of activities of daily living,the immediate and short-term effect was better than that of acupuncture group.As a combination of external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine and imaging technology,acupuncture combined with nerve stimulation of visual acupotomy is worth promoting in the treatment of hemiplegic limb dysfunction after cerebral infarction.