Acupuncture treatment for dystonia ―To approach for improve dystonia symptom and pain release―

Abstract

Acupuncture treatment for pain caused by dystonia should not only aim to suppress pain, but also to improve the original symptoms. For the primary disorder of hypertonia and hypotonia of the affected muscles, acupuncture should be applied to meridians running over the affected muscles and located away from the affected muscles. For example, the sternocleidomastoid muscle may be treated with acupuncture at the Hegu (LI4). It is an advantage of acupuncture that the same acupuncture points can be used to inhibition and increase muscle tone in the same affected muscle. In addition, secondary disorders such as muscle shortening and skin shortening over the affected muscle affect pain. Muscle shortening and skin shortening can be treated by applying acupuncture to the skin surface of the shortened area or by manual stretching. Another advantage of acupuncture is that side effects are rarely seen. However, stable improvement of symptoms requires long–term treatment ; it is important to achieve a series of improvements with each treatment and to continue treatment patiently, paying attention to changes in the patient's symptoms. In addition, in dealing with the pain produced by dystonia, it is necessary to improve the symptoms of dystonia, and for this purpose, we believe that evaluation to properly assess the condition of the affected muscles is important.