Review: Acupuncture for functional recovery after stroke
It’s frequently recommended as a facet of treatment during stroke rehabilitation.
Prof. Ernst reviewed acupuncture in this setting.
First, the details.
- 10 of 664 potentially relevant studies met the inclusion criteria.
- These studies compared the effects of acupuncture (with or without electrical stimulation) to sham acupuncture.
And, the results.
- 7 studies evaluated the acute and subacute stages after stroke.
- There was no significant difference in favor of acupuncture based on a meta-analysis of data from 7 studies.
- There was no evidence of improvement in activities of daily living after treatment or follow-up based on reanalysis of the results from 4 studies with low risk of bias.
- 3 studies tested the effects of acupuncture during the chronic stage after stroke.
- There was no benefit on function according to the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS).
- MAS measures muscle hypertonia, which occurs when muscles have increased resting activity and resistance to stretch.
- There was no benefit on function according to the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS).
The bottom line?
Prof. Ernst and colleagues concluded; “data from rigorous randomized sham-controlled trials did not show a positive effect of acupuncture as a treatment for functional recovery after stroke.”
10/3/10 20:41 JR