Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture of the body surface projection region of the pyramidal decussationes on spastic cerebral palsy (CP) so as to explore an effective therapy for it.
Methods: A total of 120 CP infant patients were randomized into control group (treated with modern rehabilitation training, n = 60) and acupuncture group (treated with acupuncture combined with modern rehabilitation training, n = 60). Four acupuncture needles were penetrated subcutaneously through the region between Yuzhen (BL 9) and Tianzhu (BL 10)equidistantly (the superficial projection region of the pyramidal decussationes), once daily for 3 months. The modified Ashworth rating, gross motor function measure (GMFM)-88 scores and synthetic function scale were adopted to assess the therapeutic effect after the treatment.
Results: After the treatment, of the 59 and 58 CP children in the control and acupuncture groups, 17 (28.81%) and 26 (44.83%) experienced marked improvement in their symptoms, 33 (55.84%) and 27 (46.55%) had an improvement, 9 (15.25%) and 5 (8.62%) failed in the treatment, with the total effective rates being 84.75% and 91.38%, respectively. The effective rate of the acupuncture group was significantly superior to that of the control group (P < 0.05). The scores of modified Ashworth rating and GMFM-88 of the control group were significantly lower than those of the acupuncture group after the treatment (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with modern rehabilitation training is effective in the treatment of CP children patients.