Insights & Discussion
Electro-acupuncture when added to standard treatment can substantially enhance recovery in Bell palsy patients, reducing paralysis severity and improving nerve function.
In the study, a total of 88 patients diagnosed with Bell palsy participated. They were divided into two groups. The first group comprised 40 patients who received standard treatment (ST) only, while the second group consisted of 48 individuals receiving standard treatment plus additional electro-acupuncture therapy (ST-EA). Details concerning patient demographics, symptoms, comorbidities, and clinical outcomes over a 3-month treatment period were meticulously recorded. What's more, the treatment response outcomes were assessed via the House-Brackmann grading system, facial nerve recovery profile and electromyography.
What emerged from the data was that the ST-EA group showed a significantly higher improvement compared to the ST group. A higher proportion of individuals experienced normal nerve function, as evinced by the 12 week electromyography tests. Additionally, a superior number of patients presented with a House-Brackmann grade of less than or equal to 2 in the 3rd, 6th, and 12th weeks of treatment, suggesting a decrease in paralysis severity. Furthermore, more patients in the ST-EA group showed facial nerve recovery profile scores of 8 or above in both the 6th and 12th weeks of treatment, indicating more satisfactory functional recovery. These outcomes highlight the promising impact of electro-acupuncture therapy as a safe and potent adjunct to standard treatment for Bell palsy.
Discover Related Insights
Electroacupuncture may be more effective than manual acupuncture for managing frozen shoulder, with larger effect sizes in terms of pain, function, and response rate.
2022 Frontiers in Medicine Electroacupuncture for the treatment of frozen shoulder: A systematic review and meta-analysis Heo JW, Jo JH, Lee JJ, Kang H, Choi TY, Lee MS, et al.
Systematic Review Electroacupuncture Frozen Shoulder Shoulder Pain
This review included thirteen studies involving 936 patients. The EA group exhibited improvements in FS pain, function, and response rates over the manual acupuncture (MA) group. As an adjunct treatment, EA improved FS pain compared to the control treatments. No adverse effects were reported.
EA was found to be an efficacious method for treating FS in this review. The meta-analysis showed that EA led to a greater reduction of FS pain than MA did, although with a very low certainty of evidence. In comparison to MA, EA led to a superior degree of functional improvement in FS patients, with a very low certainty of evidence. In comparison to MA, EA enhanced the response rate of FS, again with a low certainty of evidence. Compared with WM used in isolation, EA plus WM reduced FS pain with a low certainty of evidence.
Electroacupuncture plus rehabilitation may provide earlier pain relief for patients with frozen shoulder syndrome and could be applied clinically.
2020 Journal of the Formosan Medical Association The effect of electroacupuncture merged with rehabilitation for frozen shoulder syndrome: A single-blind randomized sham-acupuncture controlled study Lo MY, Wu CH, Luh JJ, Wang TG, Fu LC, Lin JG, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Electroacupuncture Frozen Shoulder
This clinical trial investigated the short and medium-term effects of true and sham electroacupuncture on people with frozen shoulder syndrome (FSS). The study included 21 participants who were randomly divided into two groups: a true electroacupuncture group and a sham electroacupuncture group. Both groups received 18 sessions of treatment over 6-9 weeks and were then followed up for 1, 3, and 6 months. The results showed that both groups had lasting effects at 1, 3, and 6 months, but the true electroacupuncture group showed earlier pain relief and more improvement in shoulder mobility. Overall, the study suggests that electroacupuncture plus rehabilitation may provide early pain relief for FSS patients and may have clinical applications.
Electroacupuncture might provide stronger impact on knee osteoarthritis than manual acupuncture, though both methods are safe and feasible treatments.
2020 Acupuncture in Medicine Electroacupuncture versus manual acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled pilot trial Wang TQ, Li YT, Wang LQ, Shi GX, Tu JF, Yang JW, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Electroacupuncture
The study consisted of a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in Beijing, during which 60 participants suffering from knee osteoarthritis were split into two groups: Electroacupuncture and Manual Acupuncture. Participants in both groups were treated at the same local traditional acupuncture points, with the Electroacupuncture group using an electrical apparatus. The Manual Acupuncture group experienced a sham procedure, utilizing a working power indicator but no actual current, to keep the participants blind to the experimental conditions. Over 8 weeks, both groups received 24 treatment sessions. The successfulness of the treatments was determined by response rates, pain, stiffness, functionality, and quality of life.
In the results, 53 out of 60 participants completed the study. Within these participants, the response rates were 43% for the Electroacupuncture group and 30% for the Manual Acupuncture group. Differences between group outcomes were noted but not deemed statistically significant. There were low rates of adverse effects in correspondence with the two methods, which were also evenly distributed across the two groups.
Electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture show similar effectiveness in relieving plantar heel pain syndrome with no significant difference between the two modalities.
2020 Acupuncture in Medicine Comparison of electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture for patients with plantar heel pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial Wang W, Liu Y, Jiao R, Liu S, Zhao J, Liu Z
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Ankle Pain Electroacupuncture
In this research, participants were randomly divided into two groups to receive either electroacupuncture (EA) or manual acupuncture (MA) treatments. They underwent a course of 12 treatment sessions over a span of 4 weeks, followed by 24 weeks of follow-up. The study prioritized the assessment of treatment responders, who were identified as patients showcasing at least a 50% reduction from their initial worst pain intensity experienced during the initial steps in the morning after 4 weeks of treatment.
The study encompassed 92 patients diagnosed with PHPS, enlisted between July 2018 and June 2019. A total of 78 patients (85% of the original group) successfully completed both the treatment and follow-up. The results highlight that after the 4-week treatment period, both the EA and MA groups experienced a decrease in heel pain and showed improved plantar function with no serious treatment-related adverse events. Interestingly, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of pain intensity relief or in any secondary outcomes after 4 weeks of treatment and at follow-up points at 16 and 28 weeks.