Neurological & Rehabilitation

Chinese Scalp Acupuncture, CSA, is a modern technique that can be used to effectively treat neurological problems, with responses occurring quickly after biweekly treatments.  It can help manage musculoskeletal pain, headaches, vertigo, stroke , Bell’s palsy, and traumatic brain injury.  A large percentage of patients see some change right from the beginning with CSA, whereas body acupuncture can take a few weeks before some change occurs. Symptoms such as incontinence, weakness, tingling, or numbness can respond. A recent article that examined many scalp acupuncture (SA) studies found that it was an effective adjunct as compared to Western Conventional Medicine (WCM) alone.   “Compared with the WCM, 6 RCTs showed significant effects of SA for improving neurological deficit scores (P < 0.01);….In conclusion, SA appears to be able to improve neurological deficit score and the clinical effective rate when compared with WCM,… “ http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/480950/ 

Ideally, treatments given within the first 6 months to one year after an injury produce the best results.  For people with conditions existing longer than this, it depends on the condition of their body.  If physical therapy has maintained the joints and muscles in good condition, then improvements are more likely. 

Chinese Scalp acupuncture (CSA) evolved between the ’50’s and ’70’s in Northern China. Dr. Jiao Shun-fa, a neurosurgeon, is considered to be the founder of scalp acupuncture in China. This method is based on neuroanatomy from a Western medical perspective. It is used primarily to treat paralysis and aphasia due to stroke, but also can be used for many disorders of the central nervous system. This can include phantom limb pain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple sclerosis (MS), restless leg syndrome, Bell’s palsy, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD, Meniere’s syndrome, quadriplegia, stoke, chronic pain, complex regional pain, Alzheimer’s, motor neuron diseases (MND) such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), post-polio syndrome, aphasia, cerebellar ataxia, essential tremors, fibromyalgia, and seizures.