Insights & Discussion
Compared with conventional treatment, acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy can significantly reduce the incidence of post-stroke fatigue.
A total of 6 RCTs were included in this study, including 426 cases (213 cases in the treatment group and 213 cases in the control group).
Our systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that acupuncture combined with conventional rehabilitation therapy is an effective therapy for patients suffering from post-stroke fatigue, which is suitable for clinical promotion and use. However, due to methodological weakness and limited number of RCTs, the results should be interpreted cautiously. Further clinical trials with large sample sizes and a rigorous design are needed.
Discover Related Insights
Acupuncture added to conventional rehabilitation has been found more effective in reducing post-stroke spasticity than conventional rehabilitation alone.
2022 Frontiers in Neurology Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for post-stroke spasticity: A systematic review and meta-analysis Xue C, Jiang C, Zhu Y, Liu X, Zhong D, Li Y, et al.
Systematic Review Acupuncture Spasticity
In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a charge was led to determine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for post-stroke spasticity. A comprehensive search across nine electronic databases was carried out up to June 2022. Identification was focused on randomized-controlled trials that scrutinized the potency and safety garnered from acupuncture for post-stroke spasticity. An independent screening of studies was initiated by two reviewers who also took charge of data extraction and bias risk assessment. Software tools were employed for statistical analysis of data.
Out of the search, 88 studies deemed eligible were included amounting to a total of 6,431 participants. Pooled data illustrated that there was a beneficial effect when combining acupuncture and conventional rehabilitation, surpassing the results obtained from conventional rehabilitation alone. Subgroup analysis underscored that acquiring acupuncture either once or twice a day had superior results than conventional rehabilitation. The antispasmodic effect seemed to improve with more treatment sessions. A small number of studies explicitly pointed out slight adverse events related to acupuncture.