Acupunture and stroke rehab

[bruno5]

Has anyone used acupuncture in treating stroke recovery? If so what has been your experience and success?

[joesi]

Thanks for posting this question bruno5 as I was wondering the same thing. My wife suffered a stroke caused by a gigantic aneurysm 20 months ago. Although her recovery has been exceptional, she still suffers from some loss of left side peripheral vision and we were wondering if acupuncture was an option.
burno5 - I can't help but wonder why you asked the question. Can you elaborate?

[caregiver222]

The answer is "yes" and "no. Accupuncture works because there are certain parts of the body close to the skin that affect the operation of the body and pain. Stimulating these areas can produce beneficial (or harmful) affects. The bad news is that there are great genetic variations amongst populations as to where these sensitive areas are located. Thus, data gathered for a Chinese or Tibeten population is not necessarily relevant to an American. In short the acumpuncture/pressure points differ, and because of the head-in-the-sand attitude of western medicine, they have not been adequately documented for a western population. So treatment is essentially russian roulette. Accumpuncture is especially suited to relieving pain, because the brain cannot process two signals at once. Thus, the pressure of a small needle in one area can block a level ten pain signal from another area. Young adolescent females (and males) who have their ears pierced are playing with danger, as many known accupuncture sites that regulate hormones and growth are located on the ear lobes, and stimulation of these areas should be done with caution.

[bruno5]

I had a hemorragic stroke at of all places, the gym back in April.  Lately at the suggestion of a friend, I have begun seeing an acupuncturist twice a week.  No great change but I would say some change has been noticed.