Selection of acupoints for managing upper-extremity spasticity in chronic stroke patients

Bi-Huei Wang,1,* Chien-Lin Lin,1,2,* Te-Mao Li,2,3 Shih-Din Lin,3 Jaung-Geng Lin,2 Li-Wei Chou1,2,4 1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital; 2School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine; 3Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, 4Acupuncture Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: This study investigated the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) in inhibiting upper-extremity spasticity in chronic stroke patients, and also in mapping a unique preliminary acupoint-selection protocol. Methods: Fifteen patients were divided into two groups: patients in the control group (n=6) received minimal acupuncture (MA), and those in the experimental group (n=9) received EA. Four acupoints, which include Neiguan (PC6), Shaohai (HT3), Zeqian (Ex-UE, A32), and Shounizhu (EX-UE), were treated near the motor points of the muscles for elbow flexion, forearm pronation, and finger flexion. Both groups were treated for twelve sessions, 20 minutes per session, for 6 weeks (two sessions per week). The outcome measures in this study included angle of muscle reaction (R1), passive range of motion (R2), and dynamic component (R2–R1). Results: In the experimental group, the R2–R1 of the elbow joint was significantly decreased at 1 (P=0.0079), 3 (P=0.0013), and 6 weeks (P=0.0149) after treatment compared with pretreatment levels (P