Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been viewed with suspicion in the
west. Many Chinese doctors regard acupuncture as an effective treatment for various illnesses
such as stroke. Recently, scientific studies of the effects of acupuncture have begun in China and
almost all trials as a treatment for stroke have been positive. Another study from the UK showed
that several other countries had found positive results too.
The Cochrane Collaboration, an international non-profit organization conducted a review of
the benefits of acupuncture. They found that those who received treatment within 30 days of
suffering a stroke were much more likely to make a positive recovery than those who were not
treated. ‘Sham’ acupuncture was also conducted and it was found that the differences between
this and ‘real’ acupuncture were small. This may be because of the ‘placebo effect’ whereby
patients believe in the treatment and positive effects are experienced.
However, the biggest problem with the current research is that most studies are of a poor
quality and are therefore unreliable. For example, only three trials used ‘sham’ acupuncture as a
control in studies conducted in the UK, whereas no ‘sham’ acupuncture was used in the trials in
China. Part of the problem is that in the Chinese studies the patients are hand-picked. Patients
come to the hospital to receive treatment because they already believe and trust in traditional
medicines. These patients are not willing to be put into a control group to receive ‘sham’
treatment and therefore it is difficult to conduct a proper study.
There is also a problem with the measurement of the results of acupuncture. Chinese
doctors believe that outcome measurements of acupuncture should be different from that of those
used in conventional western medicine because the theory of acupuncture is different. But these
measurements have not yet been specified.
The recent study in China, including 862 patients is the largest trial conducted to date and
the results could prove to be invaluable in the treatment of stroke patients. However, at present
there is not enough data available to endorse the routine use of acupuncture in the treatment of
stroke. What we do know is that acupuncture is cheap, safe and potentially effective treatment
that is trusted by many people, particularly in China.