A study conducted by researchers from Sanya Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has shown that combining electroacupuncture at the GV26 (Shui gou) acupoint with warm needle acupuncture is effective in treating acute cerebral infarction (ACI, ischemic stroke). The study compared conventional treatment plus warm needle acupuncture with the addition of electroacupuncture at the Shui gou acupoint. The results indicated that this combination significantly enhanced neurological recovery, improved motor and daily living abilities, and effectively reduced levels of inflammatory factors and homocysteine in patients.
Patients in the warm needle acupuncture control group were treated in a supine position with the following acupoints selected:
- GV26 (Shui gou)
- GV20 (Bai hui)
- EX-HN1 (Si shen cong)
- GV24 (Shen ting)
- EX-HN3 (Yin tang)
- CV23 (Lian quan)
- CV6 (Qi hai)
- SP6 (San yin jiao)
- SP10 (Xue hai)
- ST36 (Zu sanli)
- LI15 (Jian yu)
- LI11 (Qu chi)
- LI4 (He gu)
- PC6 (Nei guan)
In the observation group, electroacupuncture was applied at the GV26 (Shui gou) acupoint alongside warm needle acupuncture. A 0.30 mm × 25 mm sterile needle was inserted obliquely to a depth of 15 mm, with a reference electrode needle placed 5 mm below. The needles were connected to a low-frequency electronic pulse device using sparse-dense waves at a frequency of 20/100 Hz for 30 minutes of stimulation.
The study involved 96 patients with confirmed ACI, divided into a control group receiving warm needle acupuncture and an observation group receiving both warm needle acupuncture and electroacupuncture. Significant improvements were observed in both groups, with the observation group showing superior improvements. The overall effective rate was higher in the observation group (95.83%) compared to the control group (81.25%). These findings suggest that the combined approach of electroacupuncture and warm needle acupuncture could be a valuable addition to conventional treatment protocols for ACI, offering enhanced recovery and rehabilitation outcomes for patients.
Source:
1. Chen Xin, Mo Ti, Liu Shu-Wen, Li Lan-Zhu, Liu Jian-Hao. “Clinical Observation on Electroacupuncture at Shuigou Point Combined with Warming-Needle Moxibustion in the Treatment of Acute Cerebral Infarction.” Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, June 2024, Vol. 41, No. 6.