[Clinical observation of the phased acupuncture for ischemic stroke hemiplegia]

To compare the effect difference among the staged acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation, traditional acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation, and conventional rehabilitation in the patients with ischemic stroke hemiplegia.

A total of 145 patients with ischemic stroke hemiplegia were randomly assigned into an observation group (49 cases), a control group A (49 cases) and a control group B (47 cases). All the patients were received aspirin tablets 100 mg orally, once a day. The staged acupuncture according to Brunnstrom's theory combined with conventional rehabilitation were used in the observation group, at the acupoints in the yangming meridian during the flaccid paralysis phase, at the acupoints in the antagonistic muscle and the tendon of spastic dominant muscle during the spasm stage, and at the acupoints in the yangming meridian and Taixi (KI 3), Guanyuan (CV 4) and Qihai (CV 6) during the sequela stage. Conventional traditional acupuncture at the acupoints in the yangming meridian combined with conventional rehabilitation were applied in the control group A. Simple conventional rehabilitation was used in the control group B. Patients in the observation group and the control group A were received acupuncture and rehabilitation once a day from Monday to Friday, 2 weeks as 1 course; patients in the control group B were received the same rehabilitation as the observation group. The indexes were observed before treatment and at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks of treatment, including National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), short form Fugl-Meyer motor function assessment (FMA) scale, Fugl-Meyer balance (FM-B) scale, comprehensive spasm scale (CSS) and modified Barthel index (MBI).

Compared with those before treatment, except the MBI score in the control group B after 2 weeks' treatment, the NIHSS, FMA, FM-B and MBI scores were improved in all three groups at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th weeks of treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05). At the end of the 2nd week of treatment, the NIHSS and CSS scores were lower (P<0.05, P<0.01), the FMA, FM-B and MBI scores were higher (all P<0.05) in the observation group and the control group A than those in the control group B. After 4, 6 and 8 weeks' treatment, the FMA, FM-B and MBI scores were higher (P<0.05, P<0.01), the NIHSS and CSS scores were lower (all P<0.01) in the observation group than those of control group A and control group B; the FMA, FM-B and MBI scores in the control group A were higher than those in the control group B (P<0.05, P<0.01); the NIHSS and CSS scores in the control group A were lower than those in the control group B (P<0.05, P<0.01).

Staged acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation are consistent with the rehabilitation rule of patients with hemiplegia. They can improve motor function and the ability of daily life. They achieve better effect than traditional acupuncture combined with rehabilitation.