The Therapeutic Effect of Acupuncture Therapy in Cerebral Infarction Upper Limb Rehabilitation:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
WANG Pengrui
LI Xianglin
YUAN Ying
Abstract：Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for upper limb dysfunction after cerebral infarction.Methods PubMed,Ovid-Embase,Cochrane Library,Web of Science,CNKI,Wanfang,CBM,and VIP databases were searched from their inception up to August 2024 for randomized controlled trial(RCT)on acupuncture for upper limb dysfunction after cerebral infarction.Data collected included baseline information,interventions,outcome measures,and study results.Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software.Results A total of 65 RCTs involving 68 control groups and 6,085 patients with upper limb dysfunction after cerebral infarction were included.The analysis showed that acupuncture could improve the Fugl-Meyer assessment upper extremity(FMA-UE)score(68 studies,MD=7.97,95%CI:6.65-9.29),reduce the modified Ashworth scale(MAS)score(5 studies,MD=-0.40,95%CI:-0.51--0.29)and the National Institutes of Health stroke scale(NIHSS)score(14 studies,MD=-3.44,95%CI:-4.05--2.83),enhance the Barthel index(BI)(35 studies,MD=12.30,95%CI:8.94-15.66),improve the Wolf motor function test(WMFT)score(3 studies,MD=6.23,95%CI:4.54-7.92),and increase the total effective rate(22 studies,MD=1.23,95%CI:1.18-1.28),with all P<0.05.Subgroup analysis based on disease course showed that improvements in FMA-UE,BI,and total effective rate within 1 month of onset,and improvements in FMA-UE and total effective rate between 1 and 6 months of onset were statistically significant and robust.Subgroup analysis based on acupuncture methods indicated that electroacupuncture,manual acupuncture,and warm acupuncture significantly improved FMA-UE and total effective rate,while electroacupuncture and manual acupuncture significantly improved MAS,BI,and NIHSS scores.The results were statistically significant and robust.Conclusion Based on current evidence,acupuncture is clinically effective for upper limb dysfunction after cerebral infarction.Its application within one month of onset can increase patient benefits and better improve patients'activities of daily living.
Keywords：AcupunctureCerebral infarctionUpper limb dysfunctionStroke rehabilitation
Publication Date：2025-07-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-27(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 174-180 )