Stroke Rehabilitation with

Acupuncture, Tuina, and Tong

Ren Therapy
Submitted by Chad Dupuis on Mon, 08/10/2009 - 11:26am
 1 China Stem Cell NewsBlogs
and Videos of Brain Injury
Patients treated w/ stem
cells
www.stemcellschina.com

1 unique stem cell therpyfor

brain injury,patients will
have obvious improvement
in 5 weeks
www.likecell.cn

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the US and the third
leading cause of death. Every year strokes effect 15 million people worldwide
with 5 million of those resulting in death. Of the remaining 10 million survivors
at least 5 million of those will be disabled to varying degrees requiring
immediate and long-term care to regain function, speech, memory, and other
related impairments. Smoking, obesity, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and high
blood pressure are important risk factors for stroke, with high blood pressure
being the most strongly correlated.

High blood pressure, diabetes, and other risk factors for stroke are commonly
treated with Chinese Medicine and other complementary therapies. For stroke
treatment, acupuncture serves both a preventative and a rehabilitative role.
For prevention, Chinese Medicine works to offset the systemic imbalances that
contribute to stroke. These are issues such as long-term emotional and
physical strain, overwork, poor diet and dietary habits such as eating too fast,
at odd hours, etc. and an overall lack of relaxation. In Chinese Medicine terms
these habits weaken the spleen, kidney, and liver systems over a period of
time and contribute to the chances of having a stroke and/or developing other
health issues.

On the rehabilitative side, acupuncture works along with other western

therapies such as physical therapy and other rehabilitation specialists to help
regain function. Generally treatment involves resolving the underlying causes,
using points overall for the specific type of stroke in Chinese Medicine terms,
and then points for local issues. These "local" issues may include paralysis or
loss of control in various limbs, facial paralysis, speech problems, and more.
Proper treatment, then, involves points and techniques for both systemic and
local issues.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory divides stroke into two main types:
flaccid (stemming from an overall deficiency) and tense (from an overall
excess). Examples of symptom differences for these TCM diagnoses for stroke
are as follows:
Flaccid type - sudden unconsciousness with flaccid signs such as closed eyes,
open mouth, loss of bowel and/or urinary functions, cold limbs.

Tense type - sudden unconsciousness with tense signs such as clenching of

the hands and/or mouth, redness of the head and/or face, no loss of bowel or
urinary functions.

Treatment for each type will vary, and is described within our Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture for stroke section. Generally points which
aid for stroke are used, then points to clear excess or to tonify deficiencies,
and then overall for resulting symptoms such as the use of CV 23 for speech
issues (aphasia), ST 4, ST 6, ST 7, and/or UB 2 for facial paralysis, etc. See
our section on stroke treatment for more point examples.

Viewpoints outside of TCM Treatments for Stroke:

Outside of TCM acupuncture there are other systems for stroke treatment and
rehabilitation. One of these systems is Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture
(YNSA). Yamamoto is useful for stroke rehabilitaion and a variety neurological
and musculo-skeletal disorders. There have been a number of studies
performed with YNSA and the results are very promising. A general
introduction to the system can be found on our YNSA section.

Another system for stroke treatment, and our primary system, is the Tom Tam
Healing System. The Tam Healing System combines acupuncture, tuina (deep
tissue massage), and tong ren therapy (a form of medical qi gong) to aid in
the rehabilitation of stroke. For stroke rehabilitation, a combination of
techniques in our opinion is preferable to acupuncture alone. Acupuncture
needling has certain effects on neurological function, pain, and movement,
tuina promotes greater circulation and removes impediments to nerve function
in a quick fashion, and tong ren will promote nerve and blood circulation and
overall relaxation. For all of these techniques the primary treatment points are
focused on regardless which one you are using at the time. For acupuncture
you would also use various TCM points as appropriate for the patients overall
diagnosis and for tuina certain points will be highlighted particularly along the
neck and spine as indicated below.

Tam Healing System Points for Stroke:

Treatments generally begin with Tong Ren Therapy, then deep tuina on
appropriate points, followed by acupuncture, and finish with deep tuina again
including general work on the neck and spine and specific problem areas.

Tiandong - used to effect the circulation within the vertebral artery. Useful for
a range of neurological conditions including MS, alzheimer's, and stroke.

SI 16 and TH 16- window of the sky point, used to effect circulation in the
vertebral and occipital arteries. Used with a range of brain issues related to
circulation.

Huatuo of C1 - effects communication to and from the brain and promotes

circulation in the GV 20 area.

GV 20 - useful for stroke and all motor cortex issues.

LV 3 - descend liver wind and promote smooth circulation of energy.

LI 4 - clear wind from the face and head.

SI 17 - window of the sky point, very useful for facial issues, paralysis,
headaches, TMJ, as well as high blood pressure.
ST 36 - tonify overall energy and promote proper circulation.

* Important points for tuina: Tiandong, all sky window points, GV 20, huatuo
of C1 and then generally in the neck and spine through to problem areas.

Between prevention and rehabilitation there are acupuncture points and herbal
medicines which can be used at the time of stroke to prevent complications.
For completeness sake, I will mention these briefly, but it is best to obtain
western medical care promptly if at all possible as western medicine excels in
the treatment of acute medical emergencies such as stroke.

Acupressure/Acupuncture for Acute Stroke

- In an emergency situation acupressure or acupuncture may be used on the

acupuncture point GV 26. GV 26 is located between the nose and the upper lip
on the midline of the body and you can press it deeply with a fingernail or with
your thumb. GV 26 is the command point (link) for fainting and collapse and is
used to help people regain consciousness from a variety of causes.

Herbal Medicine for Stroke (Acute, Prevention and Rehabilitation)

- There are a variety of herbal formulas that are useful for stroke, many
containing herbs from the "open the orifices" and "extinguish wind" categories.
While it can be useful, herbal medicine must be used appropriately and should
never be used, specifically in serious medical conditions such as stroke,
without proper consultation from a professional practitioner. A few of the more
commonly used formulas are listed below:

Zhi Bao Dan - expels phlegm-heat and wind, useful for fever, coma, stroke,
and/or convulsions.

Qiang Li Tian Ma Du Zhong Pian - expels wind and improves circulation,

useful for paralysis from stroke, high blood pressure, and to aid in prevention
of stroke.

Xin Nao Xue Shuan Pian - promotes circulation and activates the collaterals,
useful for stroke, headache, numbness of the extremities and/or fatigue.

For more information related to the treatment of stroke, our website has a
complete section for the treatment of stroke with Chinese Medicine. As the
human and medical costs of stroke are very high, acupuncturists have an
increasingly important role to play in the field of prevention and stroke
rehabilitation. Proper use of these techniques can reduce disability in patients
and lessen the overall strain on our medical system. As practitioners we should
continue promoting health prevention through acupuncture and associated
techniques as well as to further educate the public on the uses of acupuncture
for stroke rehabilitation.