What else can acupuncture treat besides pain? Stroke!
Juan Li OMD ( China ). MS. L.Ac
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine is one of the newest primary health care professions in the United State .The concept of acupuncture for most people in USA . is one ancient method for pain problem from Asia . About Oriental Medicine (Chinese herbal Medicine) most people have no idea.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest forms of healing known to mankind. It has endured for more than 2000 years because it's so effective. It's rapidly gaining the acceptance in the United States as an alternative health care. It treats the patient as a whole considering the physical, mind and spirit as a unity. The principle of treatment is according to the cause of the disease or disharmony and corrects the problem, resulting in treatment of more just individual symptoms. It helps the patient get well and stay well.
As an acupuncturist, I have worked in acupuncture and Oriental Medicine field for over 20 years. Besides pain acupuncture can treat a lot of diseases too, like stroke (cerebrovascular disease or cerebrovascular accident). In the USA , stroke remains the third leading cause of death and is the commonest cause of neurological disability. About a couple of years ago one of my patients came for pain problem and asked me and you do some thing for my stroke, it has been 2 years since I had this, my leg is still not functional now. I felt so sad after I heard this. He had passed best treatment time, which is first 6 months after stroke. It has been 2 years I can't do much about it with acupuncture and oriental medicine.
In China almost everyone knows the most effective treatment method for sequels-the neurological disability of stroke-hemiparalysis, aphasia and pseudobulbar is combination of acupuncture treatment and physical therapy. The treatment should start after clinical stabilizing (vital signs-blood pressure, heart rate and respiration) and the sooner treatment the better results.
The research has proved that acupuncture can improve at myodynamia, electromyogram(EMG), microcirculation for stoke patient. CT(Cat Scan) and MRI(Magnet Resonance Imaging) showed acupuncture treatment can shrink the size of stroke scar(scar sack). So it greatly improve the rate of function recovery.
The treatment for hemiparalysis consist of two portion. One is scalp acupuncture, another is body acupuncture. Scalp acupuncture is using scalp point which is cerebral cortex projection area of brain damage. The body acupuncture is using limb's points.
The treatment for aphasia is mainly scalp acupuncture.
Pesudobulbar is symptom of difficulty in swallowing food and choking when drink liquid. It usually causes lung infection and serious electrolyte disorder. The treatment for pseudobulbar is neck acupuncture and scalp acupuncture. I would like to say this treatment can save the patient's life.
The treatment course is 2~3 times/weekly, 1~3 months.
Besides acupuncture treatment usually the oriental herbs are applicable for stroke patient to speeding the recovery process. The herbal formula is individually for each patient which depends on the patient's symptoms, like fatigue, easy sweats ... etc and depends on the signs like tongue color, type of pulse, facial skin color ... etc. The herbal formula mostly consists of about 10 single oriental herbs. Some stroke patients need to take the herbal formula during the acupuncture treatment period.
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