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A number of randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for stroke recovery were critically reviewed, beginning with an existing systematic review and meta-analysis. A number of these clinical studies suffered from methodological flaws that tended to obscure and reduce the reported effect size. These flaws included inadequate statistical analysis, failure to adequately account for differences in baseline stroke severity, and the use of an inadequate posttreatment assessment period. These three flaws, taken individually or in combination, resulted in the underreporting of acupuncture effects in 5 of the randomized controlled trials reviewed. By informally adjusting study results for these limitations, it was possible to demonstrate that acupuncture is probably much more effective in assisting stroke recovery than has generally been reported, especially when the stroke is in the moderately severe range. The negative impact of well-intended but inappropriate exclusion criteria in the meta-analysis was also illustrated. The importance of giving more attention to ancillary results, such as walking speed and mortality, was illustrated as a way to gain a deeper understanding of the true impact of a still poorly understood therapy such as acupuncture. The general conclusion of the reanalysis presented here is that there is in fact substantial evidence that acupuncture is effective as an adjunctive treatment for facilitating stroke recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article presents a systematic review of the literature pertaining to the use of yoga in stroke rehabilitation. In addition, we present the results of a small pilot study designed to explore the hypothesis that a Kundalini yoga practice of 12 weeks would lead to an improvement in aphasia as well as in fine motor coordination in stroke patients. Method: The 3 participants attended yoga classes twice a week for 12 weeks, before and after which they were tested on the O’Connor Tweezer Dexterity test, a timed test where the participant places pins in a Peg-Board with tweezers, and the Boston Aphasia Exam for speech. Results: All 3 participants showed improvement on both measures. Conclusion: The small sample size makes it impossible to draw definite conclusions, but the positive trends in this study suggest that further research should be done to examine the effects of Kundalini yoga on specific illnesses or medical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]