How does acupuncture help improve motor function after spinal cord injury?

Spinal cord injury often leads to the severe dysfunction below the injury site. Regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury are very limited due to irreversible pathophysiological processes, although slow recovery of injured spinal cord neurons and limited neurite outgrowth might be achieved.

Electroacupuncture has been used to treat patients with spinal cord injury and is effective in promoting functional recovery. However, the mechanisms of electroacupuncture action are not fully understood. Recently many studies of spinal cord injury models reported very interesting results. The following is the summary of some studies.

JH Yang and colleagues reported, in a SCI model by compressing the T8–9 segments using a modified Nystrom method, that electroacupuncture stimulation of ST36, GB39, ST32 and SP6 for 2-6 weeks increased GDNF mRNA expression and increased AChE activity at the injury site of medium and large neurons in the spinal cord anterior horn, and increased motor neuron activities compared with control group.

DX Jiang and colleagues reported, a model of intervertebral disc extrusion by inserting a silica gel pad into the left ventral surface of T13, electroacupuncture stimulation at the bilateral ST36 and ST44 for 14 days increased blood flow in the first lumbar vertebra (L1). Microvessel density in the T13 segment of the spinal cord was increased significantly as well. The number of normal neurons was higher in the ventral horn of the spinal cord compared with control group.

The results of those studies are quite encouraging and shed some light on the action of electroacupuncture. However, more studies both preclinical and clinical are needed to provide more information about mechanism of acupuncture.

References:

Jiang DX et al., Electroacupuncture improves microcirculation and neuronal morphology in the spinal cord of a rat model of intervertebral disc extrusion. Neural Regen Res. 2015 Feb;10(2):237-43.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25883622

Yang JH, et al., Electroacupuncture promotes the recovery of motor neuron function in the anterior horn of the injured spinal cord. Neural Regen Res. 2015 Dec;10(12):2033-9.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26889195