2011 Volume 20 Issue 1 Pages 17-31
Objective: To examine clinical effectiveness of treatment methods for post-stroke numbness. I executed a single-case randomized trial. Case: A 77-year-old man with a chief complaint of numbness and pain of the left hip to left lower limb. History of present illness: X-10 years previously, he suddenly became conscious of a sense of detachment. Numbness and paralysis of the left leg developed the next morning. Lacunar stroke was diagnosed and rehabilitation was begun. X-1 years previously, he consulted the neurosurgery department of the Meiji University of Integrative Medicine Hospital and underwent treatment with the AKA-Hakata method. X years, I commenced once-weekly acupuncture and moxibustion therapy. Intervention method: Acupuncture using the reactive point treatment based on the Primordial Oriental Medicine (A) and that using and traditional acupuncture points (B) were executed in random order. The patient received 16 treatments in total; eight of each type. Method of treatment: A was assumed to be the reactive point treatment and B the acupuncture point treatment. The randomization method ensured that both treatments were thoroughly performed. Evaluation method Numbness was evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Pain Vision (PV). Result: The patient showed a decrease in VAS score, improvement in PV evaluation, and an improvement in the extent of numbness. No significant difference in clinical effectiveness was found between the two treatments. Conclusion: The present case suggested that both treatments had equal clinical effectiveness and were useful for the sequelae of cerebral infarction.
