This study aimed to explore the effect of targeted functional acupuncture on improving muscle tone and activities of daily living in patients with upper limb spasticity after stroke. A total of 60 eligible patients admitted between March 2023 and June 2024 were randomly assigned to an experimental group (targeted functional acupuncture combined with basic rehabilitation, n=30) or a control group (conventional electroacupuncture combined with basic rehabilitation, n=30), both undergoing a 28-day intervention period. The Modified Ashworth Scale grade, resting angles of upper limb joints, and Modified Barthel Index score were assessed before and after the intervention. After the intervention, the improvement in ADL score was significantly greater in the experimental group (24.6 ± 18.3) compared to the control group (10.4 ± 15.2), with a statistically significant within-group difference (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients achieving significant muscle tone improvement (decrease ≥ 1 grade) was 60.0% in the experimental group, significantly higher than the 26.7% in the control group (P = 0.019). Furthermore, the number of "not testable" joints decreased from 38 to 22 in the experimental group, corresponding to an improvement rate of 42.1%, which was also significantly better than the 14.3% observed in the control group (P = 0.042). These results indicate that targeted functional acupuncture can effectively alleviate upper limb spasticity, improve muscle tone distribution, and significantly enhance the activities of daily living in post-stroke patients, supporting its use as an effective intervention in the rehabilitation of this population.
| Published in | International Journal of Chinese Medicine (Volume 8, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12 |
| Page(s) | 21-29 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Targeted Functional Acupuncture, Stroke, Patients with Upper Limb Spasticity, Quality of Life
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APA Style
Guanchao, Z., Zeliang, S., Fangfang, C., Xinru, W., Wenqian, Z., et al. (2025). Study on the Impact of Targeted Functional Acupuncture on Quality of Life in Patients with Upper Limb Spasticity After Stroke. International Journal of Chinese Medicine, 8(2), 21-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12
ACS Style
Guanchao, Z.; Zeliang, S.; Fangfang, C.; Xinru, W.; Wenqian, Z., et al. Study on the Impact of Targeted Functional Acupuncture on Quality of Life in Patients with Upper Limb Spasticity After Stroke. Int. J. Chin. Med. 2025, 8(2), 21-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12,
author = {Zuo Guanchao and Shan Zeliang and Chen Fangfang and Wen Xinru and Zhao Wenqian and Wang Yongxia and Yin Xiaowen and Jiqin and Mei Yingchun and Yan Zhi},
title = {Study on the Impact of Targeted Functional Acupuncture on Quality of Life in Patients with Upper Limb Spasticity After Stroke},
journal = {International Journal of Chinese Medicine},
volume = {8},
number = {2},
pages = {21-29},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijcm.20250802.12},
abstract = {This study aimed to explore the effect of targeted functional acupuncture on improving muscle tone and activities of daily living in patients with upper limb spasticity after stroke. A total of 60 eligible patients admitted between March 2023 and June 2024 were randomly assigned to an experimental group (targeted functional acupuncture combined with basic rehabilitation, n=30) or a control group (conventional electroacupuncture combined with basic rehabilitation, n=30), both undergoing a 28-day intervention period. The Modified Ashworth Scale grade, resting angles of upper limb joints, and Modified Barthel Index score were assessed before and after the intervention. After the intervention, the improvement in ADL score was significantly greater in the experimental group (24.6 ± 18.3) compared to the control group (10.4 ± 15.2), with a statistically significant within-group difference (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients achieving significant muscle tone improvement (decrease ≥ 1 grade) was 60.0% in the experimental group, significantly higher than the 26.7% in the control group (P = 0.019). Furthermore, the number of "not testable" joints decreased from 38 to 22 in the experimental group, corresponding to an improvement rate of 42.1%, which was also significantly better than the 14.3% observed in the control group (P = 0.042). These results indicate that targeted functional acupuncture can effectively alleviate upper limb spasticity, improve muscle tone distribution, and significantly enhance the activities of daily living in post-stroke patients, supporting its use as an effective intervention in the rehabilitation of this population.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Study on the Impact of Targeted Functional Acupuncture on Quality of Life in Patients with Upper Limb Spasticity After Stroke AU - Zuo Guanchao AU - Shan Zeliang AU - Chen Fangfang AU - Wen Xinru AU - Zhao Wenqian AU - Wang Yongxia AU - Yin Xiaowen AU - Jiqin AU - Mei Yingchun AU - Yan Zhi Y1 - 2025/12/31 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12 T2 - International Journal of Chinese Medicine JF - International Journal of Chinese Medicine JO - International Journal of Chinese Medicine SP - 21 EP - 29 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-9473 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijcm.20250802.12 AB - This study aimed to explore the effect of targeted functional acupuncture on improving muscle tone and activities of daily living in patients with upper limb spasticity after stroke. A total of 60 eligible patients admitted between March 2023 and June 2024 were randomly assigned to an experimental group (targeted functional acupuncture combined with basic rehabilitation, n=30) or a control group (conventional electroacupuncture combined with basic rehabilitation, n=30), both undergoing a 28-day intervention period. The Modified Ashworth Scale grade, resting angles of upper limb joints, and Modified Barthel Index score were assessed before and after the intervention. After the intervention, the improvement in ADL score was significantly greater in the experimental group (24.6 ± 18.3) compared to the control group (10.4 ± 15.2), with a statistically significant within-group difference (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients achieving significant muscle tone improvement (decrease ≥ 1 grade) was 60.0% in the experimental group, significantly higher than the 26.7% in the control group (P = 0.019). Furthermore, the number of "not testable" joints decreased from 38 to 22 in the experimental group, corresponding to an improvement rate of 42.1%, which was also significantly better than the 14.3% observed in the control group (P = 0.042). These results indicate that targeted functional acupuncture can effectively alleviate upper limb spasticity, improve muscle tone distribution, and significantly enhance the activities of daily living in post-stroke patients, supporting its use as an effective intervention in the rehabilitation of this population. VL - 8 IS - 2 ER -
Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Affiliated Sichuan Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital of Chengdu University of TCM, Chengdu, China
Gingko College of Hospitality Management, Chengdu, China
Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Affiliated Sichuan Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital of Chengdu University of TCM, Chengdu, China;Qinglong Community Health Service Center of Chenghua District, Chengdu, China
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