Efficacy of Electroacupuncture in Treating Post-Stroke Finger Spasm Patients and Its Effects on Hand Muscle Tension,Hand Muscle Strength,and Hand Movement Function
Objective To investigate the efficacy of electroacupuncture in treating post-stroke finger spasms and its effects on hand muscle tension,hand muscle strength,and hand movement function.Methods A total of 100 patients with post-stroke finger spasms,admitted to the Lu'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Anhui Province between October 2019 and October 2021,were selected and randomly divided into a control group and an observation group using the random number table method,with 50 patients in each group.The control group received conventional stroke treatment combined with rehabilitation therapy,while the observation group received electroacupuncture in addition to the control group's therapy.Both groups were treated for four consecutive weeks.Clinical efficacy,along with changes in scores on the Modified Ashworth Spasticity Scale(MAS),Neurological Disability Scale(NDS),Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FM A),hand motor coordination,hand sensory function,Modified Barthel Index(MBI),and surface electromyography,were observed and compared before and after treatment.Results After treatment,both groups showed a significant decrease in MAS and NDS scores compared to before treatment,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05);the MAS and NDS scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).FMA and MBI scores significantly increased in both groups after treatment compared to before treatment,with sta-tistically significant differences(P<0.05);the FMA and MBI scores in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Additionally,scores for hand movement coordination,hand sensory function,and total scores were significantly higher in both groups after treatment,with statistical-ly significant differences(P<0.05);the observation group showed significantly higher scores in these areas than the con-trol group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The RMS values of the wrist flexor and wrist extensor mus-cles during relaxation and passive shoulder function tests were significantly lower in both groups after treatment compared to before treatment levels,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Surface electromyographic indicators in the ob-servation group were also significantly lower than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The total clinical efficacy rate in the observation group was 94.00%(47/50),significantly higher than the control group's 80.00%(40/50),with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).Conclusion Electroacupuncture com-bined with conventional rehabilitation therapy can effectively improve hand muscle tension,hand muscle strength,and hand movement function in patients with post-stroke finger spasms.It also reduces the severity of finger spasms and helps to improve the patient's daily living ability.