100 hemiplegia cases were diagnosed by CT scanning or nuclear magnetic resonance, of whom 91 suffered from cerebral infarction and the other 9 from cerebral hemorrhage. The 50 treatment group patients were treated by head acupuncture. And another 50 control group patients were treated by body acupuncture.
For the head acupuncture group, a circle 18-21 cm was made for locating the head points. There were 7 sagittal lines and one coronary line made from 8 elastic threads, so that the circle was adjustable according to the patient's size. The patient took a sitting position looking forward. Then the elastic circle was placed on the patient's head with the anterior border of the circle against the anterior hair-line and its posterior border on the upper border of occipital protuberance. The mid-sagittal line was on the GV channel, the first lateral line on the urinary bladder channel, and the second and third lateral lines on the gallbladder channel, pointing at inner canthus, pupil, and outer canthus respectively. The points on the left side were treated for right hemiplegia, and vise versa. One needle penetrated several points, such as Qianding (GV21) through to Baihui (GV20), Tongtian (BL7) through to Luoque (BL8), Chengguang (BL6) through to Zhengying (GB17), Houding (GV19) through to Qiangjian (GV18), BL7 through to Chengling (GB18), Shangxing (GV23) through to Shenting (GV24), and Hanyan (GB4) through to Qubin (GB7). A needle was inserted quickly into the lower layer of the aponeurosis of the scalp. Then it has been pushed forward horizontally one cun deep along the skull. The needle was then lifted forcefully and rhythmically 15-20 times. Each maneuver of lifting produced a counter, sucking-in feeling of the needle, so that the lifting was limited. This method of needling was called chou. Likewise, the needle was thrust forcefully and rhythmically 15-20 times, each maneuver producing a feeling of needle withdrawal. This method of needling was called tian, Chou achieved a reducing effect, tian a reinforced effect. Three to 5 pairs of the points mentioned above were treated each time. With the needles in, the patient was asked to walk. The muscle strength of paralized limbs was generally increased. The needles were retained for 2-3 hours each time, 3 times treatment per week and 10 weeks comprising a course (30 treatments).
For the body acupuncture group, the points included Jianyu (LI15), Quchi (LI11) He-Sea Point, Hegu (LI4) Yuan-Source Point, Jianshi (PC5) Jing-River Point, Yanglingquan (GB34) He-Sea Point, Influential Point of Tendon, Zusanli (ST36) He-Sea Point, Zhongdu (GB32), GV20, Fengchi (GB20), and Jianjing (GB21). The uniform reinforcing-reducing method was applied with the needles retained for 30-40 minutes. Treatment was given once daily, ten treatments as a course. One to 2 days break was allowed between courses of treatment.
Result: The total effective rate 97% in the head acupuncture group and the total effective rate 84% in the body acupuncture group. There was a markedly statistical difference between the two groups (P<0.01).
Key Word: hemiplegia, head acupuncture, chou-tian technique
Writer: Ying Shi, Zhaoying Song
Special Clinic of the General Hospital of Beijing Military Area, Beijing 100700
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