Acupuncture does not appear to aid in stroke recovery, according to a new study published in Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
Acupuncture is often used to supplement traditional stroke rehabilitation, although its effectiveness is uncertain. It is necessary to have evidence of effectiveness from rigorous randomized clinical trials to recommend routine therapeutic use.
This study, perhaps the most comprehensive to date as it includes trials published in English language and Asian journals, was a systematic review conducted by researchers in South Korea and the United Kingdom. They included 10 studies with a total of 711 patients who had had strokes.
“Few randomized, sham-controlled trials have tested the effectiveness of acupuncture during stroke rehabilitation,” Edzard Ernst, MD, Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, England with coauthors, stated in a press release. “The majority of the existing studies do not suggest that acupuncture is effective.”
They note that the only two studies showing positive effect were highly biased and had poor reporting which made them less reliable that the others included.
The authors conclude that “the evidence from rigorous studies testing the effectiveness of acupuncture during stroke rehabilitation is negative.”
