One of the best benefits of acupuncture treatments is it is ability to restore good circulation. Circulation is opened by the stimulation of acupuncture points for the body to function healthily and normally.
The brain ceases to communicate to the part of the body that’s affected when a person suffers a stroke. This is a very basic explanation of strokes, but it helps to see it this way.
If the left side of your body is the one affected by the stroke, try as you might to move your left hand, you won’t be able to. Your left hand is no longer controlled by your brain. How can this be treated? Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture in Overland Park can be extremely helpful for the treatment of stroke symptoms.
The acupuncture points Large Intestines 4 & 11 and other points on the arm that open circulation are usually the points used to treat hand or arm pain. The stimulation of these acupoints can also be helpful for treating stroke patients. Electro-acupuncture is also applied to the points to boost the stimulation and the communication between the brain and the limb. You may imagine this as some sort of information highway. The hand is normally controlled by the brain, but the communication is obstructed because of the stroke. Your brain can begin to recognize the arm again when one stimulates the arm and hand with acupuncture.
The faster your recovery will be the soonest possible time you get acupuncture after a stroke. After a stroke, the longer you procrastinate, the likelier your muscles will go “asleep” or turn “flaccid”. You will have weak muscles and you may then need to build them back up again in order to restore proper nerve flow and have muscles that function normally once more.
I recall a movie about a bodybuilder who was very healthy. In his 30s he experienced a stroke. He was completely paralyzed which was very devastating. Since I don’t want to spoil this movie for you, I will just say that he got by through walking with help. He decided to go to China to partake in a special stroke recovery program that lasted for three months. I personally thought he would have successfully made a complete recovery within three months had he had gone to the stroke therapy within a few weeks of the stroke. It is extremely imperative, after a stroke, to begin acupuncture treatment as quickly as possible.
Coumadin is used by a lot of patients after a stroke. This drug is designed as a blood thinner and taken to prevent the risk of another stroke. A majority of strokes are known as “thrombotic” strokes and they occur because of clots. There are strokes that are due to broken blood vessels. Some acupuncturists use Tru OPC, which is an extract of grape seed to repair blood vessels among patients with weak blood vessels, which is proven by their tendency to severely bleed during acupuncture.
For stroke victims taking Coumadin, there is no contraindication to undergo acupuncture. It is my personal opinion that people with weak blood vessels as a result of high levels of blood sugar in the body are the only ones that bleed at all in an acupuncture procedure.
In 1998, I treated my dad after he suffered a stroke. I had the good opportunity of treating him the first week post stroke. The treatment I gave him was acupuncture and smokeless moxa on his arm and legs and he was walking almost normally within a few days. His leg began to feel numb and cold and there can’t be good circulation if the limb is cold. When you are cold your blood will not naturally flow well. Blood will begin to flow normally once more when the body tissue is warmed.