A patient suffered severe dramatic brain injury from a
high-speed snowboarding accident, being initially unable to walk, having
difficulty with speech, and suffering from poor eyesight. Following acupuncture
treatment over 4 years, he now regained significant motor function, speech and
vision and has returned to snowboarding. A case study was reported in the
journal of Global Advances in Health and Medicine.
A male patient, 21-year old at the time of
accident, was admitted to the hospital in Colorado, the United States,
following a high-speed snowboarding accident. Brain MRI and CT scans indicated
diffuse axonal injury. The neck CT scan showed a non-displaced C6 vertebral
body fracture and a non-displaced fracture of the left occipital condyle. He
was diagnosed with severe traumatic brain injury that resulted in paralysis and
then spastic hemiplegia of the dominant side. His left side was stiff, and his
right side was more flaccid with tremors.
Following comprehensive inpatient care the
patient was released from hospital for ongoing rehab and long-term care. Prior
to acupuncture the patient had been doing occupational and speech therapy and
were involved in physical therapy.
The patient came for acupuncture treatment in
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Tempe, Arizona, United States, 3.5
months after injury. After initial assessment by the experienced acupuncturist,
the acupoints selected initially were chosen to regulate and move the Qi and
Blood and clear Wind according TCM. As an ongoing adaption to the patient
protocol, supplemental acupoints were added as needed to address the relevant
concerns including acute respiratory infection, constipation, insomnia,
diplopia and balance. His acupuncture covered two separate treatment periods of
57 weeks and 38 weeks.
Overall, his vision has improved, tremors had decreased,
and fine motor skills had improved following acupuncture. He was subsequently
able to snowboard a number of times during the final year of treatment.
Authors suggest that acupuncture should be
considered as a viable treatment addition for patients with traumatic brain injury;
in particular, a patient-specific treatment protocol focusing on individual’s
deficits appears to provide long-term benefits.
Reference
J
Wolf et al., Restoration of function with acupuncture following severe
traumatic brain injury: A case report. Global Adv Health Med. 2015;4(6):52-57. http://www.gahmj.com/doi/full/10.7453/gahmj.2014.069
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