Effectiveness of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation for treatment of acute or subacute stroke: a systematic review

I don'r see how they can come to the conclusion that acupuncture helps at all in treating stroke. Energy meridians have never been proven to exist, the only proof ever given is an appeal to antiquity which is totally worthless. By combining therapies you can never prove which one is effective.
http://acupmed.bmjjournals.com/content/early/2015/03/31/acupmed-2014-010705.abstract

1. Larissa Vados1,
2. Alberto Ferreira1,
3. ShouFa Zhao1,
4. Rafael Vercelino2,
5. Shu Wang3

+ Author Affiliations

1. ¹Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
2. ²Department of Pharmacology of Pain & Neuromodulation, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde-ICBS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul–UFRGS, Tianjin, China
3. ³First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China

1. Correspondence to Larissa Vados, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 88 YuQuan Lu, TianZhong BinGuan Room 1124, Tianjin 300193, China; lvados@icloud.com

• Accepted 13 March 2015
• Published Online First 31 March 2015

Abstract

Objectives To determine whether the combination of acupuncture and rehabilitation produces better results in the treatment of acute or subacute stroke sequelae than rehabilitation alone.

Methods A systematic review was carried out. A search was conducted in March 2014 using PubMed, Medline, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure database (CNKI) and Wanfang databases. English and Chinese language articles published within 10 years of the search were reviewed for inclusion. Randomised control trials comparing combined treatment with acupuncture and rehabilitation and rehabilitation alone in patients with acute or subacute stroke (onset until 3 months after stroke) were included in this review. Three review authors independently checked the titles and abstracts of trials for inclusion based on selection criteria. Studies measuring changes of motor function, activities of daily living, neurological deficit or spasticity/range of motion during the treatment period and at the end of follow-up were included.

Results 17 trials met the inclusion criteria, of which five were of good quality. 14 trials had results favourable to acupuncture combined with rehabilitation, compared with conventional rehabilitation treatment alone.

Conclusions Acupuncture in combination with rehabilitation may have benefits for the treatment of acute and subacute stroke sequelae in comparison with rehabilitation alone. However, many of the studies were at risk of bias. Future studies should focus on reaching a consensus about the most appropriate modality of acupuncture intervention, and the appropriate length of treatment for both interventions, to maximise the potential synergistic outcomes.