Clinical Research Progress on Acupuncture Treatment for Post-stroke Swallowing Disorders

Abstract

Post-stroke dysphagia is a common complication of stroke, with a high incidence rate, and can easily lead to aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, and other adverse outcomes, seriously affecting patients’ quality of life. Modern rehabilitation methods have limited efficacy and poor patient compliance. As a distinctive TCM therapy, acupuncture is widely used in rehabilitation due to its safety and fewer adverse reactions. This article reviews recent clinical research on acupuncture for post-stroke swallowing disorder, summarizes TCM’s understanding of the disease names, causes, and pathogenesis of post-stroke dysphagia, and summarizes the clinical application and research evidence of conventional acupuncture (body needle, scalp needle, eye needle, neck needle, throat needle, auriculous needle, abdominal needle) and specialized acupuncture techniques (revitalizing the brain and opening orifices, passing the pass, regulating the orifices, regulating the mind and regulating the throat, and stimulating the throat). Current clinical studies confirm that various acupuncture therapies can improve swallowing function by regulating meridian qi and blood, promoting nerve repair, and reconstructing the swallowing reflex arc, with combined interventions often yielding better results. It is also pointed out that current research still needs to further explore the mechanisms of action, aiming to provide reference for clinical rehabilitation of post-stroke swallowing disorders and fully leverage the advantages of TCM treatment.