Scalp-cluster acupuncture with electrical stimulation can improve motor and living ability in convalescent patients with post-stroke hemiplegia

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients with post-stroke hemiplegia could benefit from long-term treatment with scalp cluster(SC) acupuncture combined with electrical stimulation(ES)and to evaluate the feasibility of this treatment to improve motor and living abilities.METHODS: Twenty patients were enrolled and divided into two groups: SC acupuncture and SC acupuncture with ES(SC and SC + ES, respectively). All participants also received rehabilitation training.All participants were blindly evaluated using the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale for motor ability, the modified Barthel Index for living ability, and a scale for the degree of neurological deficits. Outcome was assessed at three points before randomized grouping, at the beginning or treatment, and after4 weeks of treatment.RESULTS: Following 4 weeks treatment, all the patients exhibited significant improvements in aspects of motor ability, living ability, and the severity of neurological deficits. The experimental group(SC + ES) scored higher on the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale(68 ± 12) and the modified Barthel Index(49 ± 9) than the control(SC) group(50 ± 13,36 ± 13, respectively).CONCLUSION: When patients with post-stroke hemiplegia are treated using SC acupuncture with ES, motor and living ability can improve more than if they were treated with SC acupuncture alone.