Tag: stroke

Acupuncture for somatosensory problems after strokes

I have found working with stroke patients very rewarding. Unfortunately a stroke can leave some who was previously hale and hearty struggling with even the essentials of a daily dignity. And in need of support in ways that they might not have every imagined.

Although the onset of a stroke may come out of the blue, recovery is often a long and draw-out process. Men and older people are more at risk, but anyone can experience a stroke. Each year in Australia 55,000 people experience a stroke, and a year later, only 10% of them will have fully recovered. I’ve written before about the evidence base for acupuncture for depression after a stroke, which around a third of stroke survivors will need help with. But there are a wide range of other possible symptoms that may contineu to impair your quality of life if you have had a stroke.

So I was interested to see a recent study on acupuncture for somatosensory problems after a stroke.

Somatosensory problems after stroke

Somatorysensory problem are problems that affect our perceptions of our body itself, and of the world around us. Around half of stroke survivors may experience difficulties with their perception of touch, position senses (known as proprioception), temperature, and/or pressure. The knock-on impacts of these can hinder your ability to perform all kinds of simple every day tasks, from walking and balancing, to safely picking up a cup of tea.

Acupuncture for somatosensory problems after stroke

The 2025 study is a systematic review and meta-analysis, which means they looked systematically at all of the studies that have been done in this area. They identified 55 randomised controlled trials for their analysis, including nearly 5,000 patients. They concluded:

“The current best evidence shows that acupuncture has advantages in raising the effective rate, alleviating sensory disturbance, relieving pain, enhancing the ability of daily living, and improving the symptoms of neurological deficits for somatosensory deficits after stroke compared with the control group… However, further well-designed high-quality and multicenter international studies are needed to verify the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for somatosensory deficits after stroke.”

“Additionally, the adverse reactions in acupuncture group were acceptable and the incidence of adverse events is lower than in the control group.”

2025 systematic review and metanalysis on acupuncture for somatosensory problems

Acupuncture approaches

I was pleased to see the study describe the types of acupuncture, and the acupuncture points that were used in the underlying research trials- believe it or not, not all acupuncture studies actually mention these. They found quite a long list, which illustrates nicely how individualised a well-thought-out acupuncture treatment usually is. The choice of points for each person, and at each stage in their treatment, will be based on a wide range of diagnostic information, incorporating all the other current aspects of their health. It’s not really the nature of acupuncture to treat only one symptom in isolation, when others are also present.

We discovered that baihui (DU20) appears the most frequently, with a total of 14 occurrences, followed by the sanyinjiao (SP6) with 13 occurrences, and then the zusanli (ST36) with nine occurrences. Fengchi (GB20), hegu (LI4), and yanglingquan (GB34) each appeared six times. Neiguan (PC6), quchi (LI11), and Ah Shi points each appeared five times. Jianyu (LI15), weizhong (BL40), jiquan (HT1), and xuehai (SP10) each appeared four times. Fenglong (ST40), tianzhu (BL10), and shenting (GV24) each appeared three times. Wangu (GB12), taichong (LR3), shousanli (LI10), waiguan (SJ5), huantiao (GB29), fengshi (GB31), chize (LU5), yongquan (KI1), liangqiu (ST34), dicang (ST4) and taiyang each appeared two times. The acupoints that appeared only once include yintang (GV29), taixi (KI3), pishu (BL20), xinshu (BL15), feishu (BL13), shenshu (BL23), ganshu (BL18), yuyao, jianzhen (SI9), xiaguan (ST7), jiache (ST6), chengjiang (ST24), sibai (ST2), yingxiang (LI20), qubin (GB7), and baxie. 

But don’t worry, no one treatment would usually include ALL of these points! This is more of an indication of the menu of options that a fully trained traditional acupuncturist may be able to draw on, for this type of problem.

Try acupuncture

To book in for some acupuncture, just get in touch and I will be happy to help.

References

Stroke: Symptoms, Treatments, and Statistics in Australia. (n.d.). Brain Foundation. Retrieved February 10, 2025, from https://brainfoundation.org.au/disorders/stroke/

Sidarta, A., Lim, Y. C., Wong, R. A., Tan, I. O., Kuah, C. W. K., & Ang, W. T. (2022). Current clinical practice in managing somatosensory impairments and the use of technology in stroke rehabilitation. PLoS ONE, 17(8), e0270693. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270693

Ren, S., Chen, Y., Liu, Y., Lv, Q., Peng, J., Song, L., Zou, Y., Zhang, H., & Chen, X. (2025). Acupuncture for somatosensory deficits after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Medicine, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1504215

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Acupuncture for post-stroke depression

The short term impacts of having a stroke are well known, but it can be less well recognised that as your experience of a stroke unfolds, depression and anxiety can set in. Around a third of people who experience a stroke will need treatment for depression. Family members too, may go through difficult times emotionally as you all adjust to dealing with the aftermath of a stroke.

Identifying depression

When we’re in a slump, it can be hard to see it clearly. Depression isn’t only feeling very gloomy or sad, it can also affect sleep, drain your joy and interest from everyday activities, and shrink your concentration and self confidence.

Immediate sources of help

If you’re stuck feeling low, the Australian Stroke Foundation has a great page with lots of great suggestions, from trying to be more active and social, to drinking less, to talking things through with a counsellor. They also link through to Strokeline (1800 787 653), Beyond Blue, Lifeline and 13Yarn, to receive support in difficult times.

Acupuncture for post stroke depression

And acupuncture may also be able to help. A 2023 systematic review and network meta-analysis looked at this. This is one of the best forms of research evidence, it is a study of all the available individual studies. They analysed 62 studies, involving 5308 people. Their conclusions were: 

“The results of this study indicate that AC [acupuncture] alone or combined with other therapies appears to be effective in improving depression symptoms of stroke survivors. Moreover, in comparison to WM [Western medicine], AC alone or plus RTMS [a treatment with magnets], TCM [Chinese herbal medicine], TCM with WM, or WM, were more effective in improving depression symptoms of [PSD post-stroke depression].”

There are a lot of acronyms there! One of the simpler statements they made was that:

“When compared with UC [usual care], AC [acupuncture] alone or combined with any other therapy (including AC with RTMS, AC with TCM, AC with TCM and WM, AC with Tai Chi, AC with WM, AC with CT, AM, and AM with WM) was superior.”

And that some of these combinations, including acupuncture alone”

“were significantly associated with better neurological function improvement in contrast to UC [usual care] or WM [Western medicine].”

And:

“AC [acupuncture] alone may be more effective in alleviating depression symptoms as compared with WM [Western medicine].”

So, some positive findings there for acupuncture for post-stroke depression.

Book some acupuncture

Everyone’s response to acupuncture is a very individual business, and the only way to find out whether acupuncture may help in your case, is to give it a try.J Just get in touch to get started.

References

Lam Ching, W., Li, H.J., Guo, J. et al. Acupuncture for post-stroke depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry 23, 314 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-04749-1

Image by Holger Langmaier from Pixabay