Recovering from a stroke - An acupuncture approach

A stroke occurs as a result of interrupted or reduced blood supply to the brain. This may occur as a result of a blocked artery, a leaking or burst blood vessel. Unfortunately, strokes are the second leading cause of adult death worldwide.

Following a stroke a person can be left with disabilities. These may include:

Paralysis or loss of movement: There may be paralysis on one side of the body or loss of control of certain muscles, such as on one side of the face or on one arm;

Difficulty talking or swallowing: Slurred speech, difficulty swallowing and eating may result because of a lack of ability to coordinate the muscles in the mouth and throat. Additionally, there may also be difficulty with language, resulting in impaired speech understanding, reading and writing;

Memory loss and difficulty thinking, making judgements, reasoning and understanding;

Emotional problems, due to difficulty controlling emotions and also depression;

Pain and numbness in various parts of the body.

Many types of therapy are used in the rehabilitation process following a stroke. These include: speech therapy, physical therapy and increasing acupuncture. To ensure the best chances of recovery, these therapies should be started soon after the stroke has occurred.

Benefits of acupuncture

Acupuncture done two to three times weekly may be used to improve:

Movement

Speech

Swallowing

Memory

Thinking

Pain

TYPES OF ACUPUNCTURE

Scalp acupuncture

Acupuncture points on the scalp are the primary points used in stroke-rehabilitation therapy. On the scalp there are areas along which thin acupuncture needles may be threaded and gently stimulated.

These include:

Balance line: If there is a difficulty maintaining balance;

Speech line: To address both speech comprehension and formation;

Motor line: This is one of the longest lines on the scalp and is divided into three sections to address impaired movement of the head, upper limbs and lower limbs.

Auricular acupuncture

Points on the ear that correspond with areas of deficiency are selected and needled. These may include:

Shen men point: In cases of emotional problems and depression;

Mouth point: In cases with difficulty eating;

Esophagus, mouth, epiglottis and pharynx points: When there is difficulty swallowing.

Following treatment, small intradermal needles or ear seeds may be placed in the ear until the next treatment to allow continued stimulation of the acupuncture point.

In addition to points on the scalp and ear, other points are selected on the arms and legs to regulate the flow of blood in the brain.

Stroke prevention

Fortunately, one can take steps to prevent a stroke by adopting a healthy lifestyle. These include:

Controlling high-blood pressure: this is one of the most important things that can be done to reduce the risk of a stroke;

Cholesterol control: Lowering cholesterol and fat intake;

Quitting tobacco use;

Controlling diabetes;

Maintaining a healthy weight;

Fruits and vegetables: Maintaining a diet with five or more servings of fruits and vegetables;

Regular exercise: Doing thirty minutes daily or most days;

Minimizing alcohol consumption.

Dr Tracey-Ann Brown is an oriental medicine practitioner, herbalist and doctor of acupuncture; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.

Acupuncture points on the scalp are the primary points used in stroke-rehabilitation therapy.