Hemiplegia is a sequelae of cerebrovascular disease. Due to the motor dysfunction of one side of the limbs, including the tongue and facial muscles, hemiplegic patients often have language difficulties, crooked corners of the mouth, and swallowing disorders. It is commonly referred to as "hemiplegia" or "stroke" in traditional Chinese medicine. Hemiplegia is common in middle-aged and elderly people, which brings deep pain to patients and their families. In clinical practice, it is generally treated by combining traditional Chinese and western medicine, and acupuncture and moxibustion is an effective means of traditional Chinese medicine to treat hemiplegia. Through a large number of clinical experiments, it has been proved that the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment of stroke hemiplegia is very satisfactory, especially for language recovery, limb movement and swallowing function. Now let's talk about how acupuncture and moxibustion can treat hemiplegia.
1. What is hemiplegia? Which group of people are more likely to suffer from hemiplegia?
Hemiplegia, also known as hemiplegia, is characterized by complete paralysis of half of the patient's body. It generally refers to central nervous system damage caused by various reasons, resulting in paralysis of one limb (upper and lower limbs), usually accompanied by damage to one side of the brain nerve, and is more common in stroke or intracranial lesions. The high-risk population for hemiplegia mainly includes the following:
1.1 Stroke patients: The main factor causing hemiplegia is stroke, so stroke patients are a high-risk population for hemiplegia;
1.2 People with basic diseases: basic diseases generally refer to chronic metabolic diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, etc. The situation of cerebral blood vessels of such people is relatively poor, and they are prone to acute cerebrovascular diseases and other emergencies, leading to hemiplegia;
1.3 Population with a family history of genetic disorders: If someone in the family has had cerebrovascular disease, it increases the risk of hemiplegia;
1.4 Population with spinal trauma: Patients who have suffered spinal trauma due to accidents such as falling from heights or car accidents may have an increased risk of developing hemiplegia.
2. What is the principle of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating hemiplegia?
2.1 Acute stage
Hemiplegia in acute stage. At this time, acupuncture and moxibustion treatment mainly focuses on brain resuscitation, supplemented by dredging the meridians. At present, many doctors believe that the treatment of acute hemiplegia with conventional western medicine can be as early as possible in the treatment of traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture and moxibustion, which not only helps to reduce the disability rate of hemiplegia, but also can reduce the degree of disability of patients with hemiplegia as far as possible. The selected points for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment at this stage are: Yongquan, Fengfu, Renzhong, Baihui, Shierjing, Laogong and Neiguan.
2.2 Recovery period and sequela period
For patients in recovery period and sequela period, acupuncture and moxibustion treatment in this period is mainly to identify the symptoms, and then conduct phased treatment. The theoretical basis of scalp acupuncture is mainly based on the functional localization of the cerebral cortex. In clinical treatment, the acupoints used are different according to the needs of the disease, such as language area, motor area, foot movement sensation area, sensory area, etc.
2.3 Soft paralysis period
At this time, acupuncture and moxibustion treatment generally focuses on the large intestine meridian of hand Yangming and stomach meridian of foot Yangming, which are full of qi and blood, combined with the tendon needling method and local points of joints, so as to achieve the effect of strengthening muscles and bones and supplementing qi and blood.
In general, the upper limbs are usually selected from acupoints such as Quchi, Jiquan, Hegu, Shoulder Hip, and Waiguan; The lower limbs are usually selected from acupoints such as Zusanli, Huantiao, Xuanzhong, Yanglingquan, and Weizhong.
2.4 Spasmodic period
Treatment should regulate yin and yang, relieve urgency and supplement relief. The selection of acupoints is mainly focused on clearing meridians, unblocking collaterals, and facilitating joints while relieving urgency and tonifying relief. At this time, the acupuncture and moxibustion treatment should be based on the principle of regulating yin and yang, reducing the urgency and soothing the tonification, and at the same time, it should dredge the channels and dredge the collaterals and facilitate the joints. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapy can be performed by puncturing Yangxi through the calendar, shoulder through the arm, Sanyinjiao through the sea, Sidu through the Waiguan, Jimen through the sea of blood and Yinlingquan through the earth.
3. How to Use acupuncture and moxibustion to Treat Hemiplegia
acupuncture and moxibustion is a good way to treat hemiplegia. It can stimulate the acupoints of the hemiplegic part to accelerate the blood circulation and gradually restore to the normal sensory state. In addition, acupuncture and moxibustion treatment can also play the role of promoting blood circulation and unblocking collaterals, which is conducive to the further recovery of hemiplegia patients. Therefore, it is necessary to treat hemiplegic patients with acupuncture and moxibustion.
In general, the main acupoints are divided into two groups, and the supporting acupoints are divided into two groups:
Main acupoint group A: Jiquan, Neiguan, Sanyinjiao, Shuigou, Weizhong, and Chize acupoints; Group B: Waiguan, Shoulder Hip, Huantiao, Quchi, Hegu, Yanglingquan, Taichong, Zusanli, and Xuanzhong acupoints.
Paired acupoint group A: For example, for swallowing difficulties, acupuncture points such as Lianquan and Fengchi are added to the Yifeng acupoint; Aphasia can be treated with injections of Jin Jin and Yu Ye; Group B: For limb paralysis, acupuncture can be added to acupoints such as Fengshi, Jianzhen, Kunlun, Houxi, Zhibian, and Fenglong; Facial paralysis can be treated with acupuncture at the buccal and subcutaneous acupoints; Aphasia can be treated with acupuncture at the Yamen and Lianquan acupoints. Inject once a day, and one course of treatment is ten times.
Conclusion: Although the treatment of hemiplegia is long and difficult, hemiplegic patients should correct their mentality, maintain an optimistic attitude, and actively cooperate with treatment. At the same time, it is necessary to develop good bowel habits and dietary habits, try to maintain a low sugar, low-fat, and low salt diet, balance nutrition as much as possible, and avoid nutrient deficiency or overnutrition. In addition, hemiplegic patients should maintain appropriate exercise to promote blood circulation, thereby helping themselves recover and preventing secondary recurrence.