Acupuncture Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Acupuncture, including details on alternative medicine, uses, benefits, treatment, chinese medicine.

Acupuncture for upper-extremity rehabilitation in chronic stroke: a randomized sham-controlled study.

Wayne PM, Krebs DE, Macklin EA, Schnyer R, Kaptchuk TJ, Parker SW, Scarborough DM, McGibbon CA, Schaechter JD, Stein J, Stason WB

Research Department, New England School of Acupuncture, Watertown, MA; MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA.

Wayne PM, Krebs DE, Macklin EA, Schnyer R, Kaptchuk TJ, Parker SW, Scarborough DM, McGibbon CA, Schaechter JD, Stein J, Stason WB. Acupuncture for upper-extremity rehabilitation in chronic stroke: a randomized sham-controlled study. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of traditional Chinese acupuncture with sham acupuncture on upper-extremity (UE) function and quality of life (QOL) in patients with chronic hemiparesis from stroke. DESIGN: A prospective, sham-controlled, randomized controlled trial (RCT). SETTING: Patients recruited through a hospital stroke rehabilitation program. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-three subjects who incurred a stroke 0.8 to 24 years previously and had moderate to severe UE functional impairment. INTERVENTIONS: Active acupuncture tailored to traditional Chinese medicine diagnoses, including electroacupuncture, or sham acupuncture. Up to 20 treatment sessions (mean, 16.9) over a mean of 10.5 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: UE motor function, spasticity, grip strength, range of motion (ROM), activities of daily living, QOL, and mood. All outcomes were measured at baseline and after treatment. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between active and sham acupuncture groups. Analyses of protocol-compliant subjects revealed significant improvement in wrist spasticity (P<.01) and both wrist (P<.01) and shoulder (P<.01) ROM in the active acupuncture group, and improvement trends in UE motor function (P=.09) and digit ROM (P=.06). CONCLUSIONS: Based on ITT analyses, we conclude that acupuncture does not improve UE function or QOL in patients with chronic stroke symptoms. However, gains in UE function observed in protocol-compliant subjects suggest traditional Chinese acupuncture may help patients with chronic stroke symptoms. These results must be interpreted cautiously because of small sample sizes and multiple, unadjusted, post hoc comparisons. A larger, more definitive RCT using a similar design is feasible and warranted.

Published 13 December 2005 in Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 86(12): 2248-55.
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