A
male patient with deep cutting wound and total rupture of right proximal
forearm ulnar nerve was treated with direct electrical stimulation of
acupuncture needles plus daily rehabilitation activities recovered most of
function and returned to work around three months of after surgery. A case
study reported in journal of Complementary Therapies in Medicine.
A
32-year old male patient, in Taiwan, China, suffered a deep cut from a broken
washbasin and total rupture of right proximal forearm ulnar nerve and partial
rupture of many associated tendons. The wound immediately underwent irrigation
and muscle and ulnar nerve repair surgery. Two weeks after operation,
electroacupuncture was applied, using 2 needles inserted in the cubital tunnel along
the site of the injured ulnar nerve and 10 needles inserted according to the
origins of muscles innervated by the ulnar nerve and affected by the injury,
and other 4 needles were inserted along the suture scar line to avoid possible
soft tissue contractures. The procedure was executed once a week for 6 months
plus daily rehabilitation activities.
The
outcome was monitored using the Rosén and Lundborg (R&L) protocol and DASH
scores once a month. The results gathered on the first day of intervention were
regarded as the baseline.
It
was found that pain/discomfort domain was the first to reach stable
amelioration after the first month. The motor and sensory and domains reached
stable growth in third and fourth months, respectively. The patient returned to
work in third month after operation.
Authors
suggested that direct electrical stimulation at the proximal site of the injured
nerve can augment nerve regeneration by means of acceleration of axon
regeneration, earlier target muscle reinnervation, improvements in axonal
conduction speeds, and up-regulation and electrophoretic movement of neurotrophic
and neurogrowth factors such as BDNF and its trkB receptors.
Reference
Tang
YJ et al., Direct electrical stimulation on the injured ulnar nerve using acupuncture
needles combined with rehabilitation accelerates nerve regeneration and
functional recovery—A case report. Complementary Therapies in Medicine 24
(2016) 103–107. http://www.complementarytherapiesinmedicine.com/article/S0965-2299(15)30024-8/abstract
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