Acupuncture treatment significantly improved
gait impairment of patients with multiple sclerosis compared. It was reported
in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine.
Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating
neurological disorder, caused by the inflammatory reaction to dysfunction of immune
system. Multiple sclerosis affects the
brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including
sensation, balance, vision and movement such as gait impairment. Acupuncture has
been reported to effectively improve many symptoms of multiple sclerosis
including fatigue, pain, depression and sleep interference.
Recently Dr. MB Criado and colleagues
conducted a clinical study to investigate the effect of acupuncture on gait
impairment of patients with multiple sclerosis. Twenty patients were recruited
for the study and blindly and randomly allocated into true acupuncture and sham
acupuncture treatment groups. In true acupuncture group acupoints ST34, BL40
and BL57 were selected and in sham acupuncture group points located 2 cun laterally
to true acupoints. Leopard spot technique was applied in both true and sham
groups. One month after first treatment, patients in both groups were swapped
for the crossover study. Gait impairment was evaluated in all patients by the
25-foot walk test (T25WF) before and after the treatments.
The results found that there was no
statistically significant difference with the 25-foot walk test at the base
line between two groups. However, true acupuncture treatment significantly
improved gait impairment judged by T25WF test compared with its baseline. Similarly,
true acupuncture statistically and significantly improved gait compared with
sham acupuncture which was not different from the baseline assessment. Patients
in true acupuncture groups felt much better balanced movements.
The study showed acupuncture treatment can
markedly improve gait impairment, in addition to other symptoms of multiple
sclerosis.
Reference
Criado MB et al., Effects of
Acupuncture on Gait of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis. J Altern Complement
Med. 2017 Nov;23(11):852-857. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28410453
