Tui Na-based treatment for post-stroke sequelae

       Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident and stroke, is a common clinical disease with a high mortality rate and disability rate. With the continuous improvement of medical technology, the mortality rate of stroke patients has been significantly reduced, however, the disability rate is as high as more than 80% among survivors. Therefore, post-stroke rehabilitation is gradually gaining attention and is considered an indispensable part of the treatment system for cerebrovascular diseases. Acupuncture and tui-na have been shown to be very effective in stroke. As one of the TCM tools to relieve the spasticity of limbs and promote muscle strength recovery, Tui Na has an important role in the rehabilitation process of hemiplegia. During the training period in Yueyang Hospital, the author studied Tui Na treatment of stroke hemiplegia with Dr. Qi Rui, the deputy chief physician, and achieved good results in the treatment of stroke hemiplegia sequelae by using Tui Na point method and 扌衮 method mainly together with patient’s active movement, which is summarized as follows.  1.Clinical data 32 cases of cerebral infarction patients in the rehabilitation clinic or ward were selected. Among them, 18 cases were male and 14 cases were female; age was 46-80 years old, average 61.34±11.78 years old; 26 cases had cerebral thrombosis and 6 cases had cerebral hemorrhage; 15 cases had left-sided limb hemiparesis and 17 cases had right-sided limb hemiparesis; the longest duration of disease was 720 days and the shortest was 120 days, average 190.26±124.38 days.  2.Diagnostic criteria The diagnostic criteria of cerebral infarction in the Diagnostic Points of Various Cerebrovascular Diseases formulated by the Fourth National Academic Conference on Cerebrovascular Diseases in 1995 were met, confirmed by cranial CT or MRI examination, with stable vital signs, onset of disease for more than 4 months, excluding serious comorbidities (including heart infarction, heart failure, liver and kidney insufficiency, severe dementia, etc.), or diagnosed with malignant tumor.  3.Treatment method (1) Head and face: supine position, follow the meridians along the head from front to back along the lines of the Governor and Bladder meridians. Focus on Yin Tang, Sun, Bai Hui, Si Shen Cong and Feng Chi points. The technique should be as heavy as the patient can tolerate.  (2) Upper limb: supine position, dysfunctional side. The practitioner applies 扌衮法 to the muscle abdomen of the flexed side of the upper limb. Then apply palm rubbing method on the three Yang meridians of the hand, from the shoulder to the back of the hand and back until the skin feels warm. Apply point pressure on the affected shoulder k, Quchi, Hand Sanli, Waiguan, Hegu, Shang Yang, Shaoshang and Shaoze respectively. The practitioner slowly extends the elbow, wrist and finger joints of the affected limb and then flexes the elbow, wrist and finger joints more rapidly. Slowly and fully perform the forward and backward rotation of the forearm. Shake the metacarpophalangeal joint and twist the knuckles.  (3) Back: Prone position. First apply 扌衮法 on the neck and back along the Governor’s and Bladder meridians. Then press Fengfu, Dazhi, Jishu, Zhizhong, Hangshu, Lifemen and other Governor’s meridian points and Fengmen, Xin Yu, Liver Yu, Spleen Yu, Kidney Yu and Large Intestine Yu bladder meridian points to make them feel sore and swollen. Finally, lift the shoulder well and knead the Tianzong and Shoulder Zhen.  (4) Lower limbs: prone position. The treatment is accompanied by passive exercises such as hip abduction, knee flexion, ankle dorsiflexion and extension, and point massage on Huanjiao, Fengshi, Zhizhong, Chengshan, Yanglingquan, Feiyang, Sanyinjiao, Qiuhui, Taichong, Yinbai and Zhiyin points until they are sore and swollen.  The above treatment is performed 3 times a week for 30 min each time, 9 times for 1 course of treatment. During the treatment, attention should be paid to the intensity of the manipulation from light to heavy or alternating between light and heavy. At the same time, the patient was asked to do active upper and lower limb functional exercises.  4.Treatment results After 2 courses of treatment with the above methods, the efficacy was evaluated. The results are detailed in the table. As shown in the table, the Bather index (BI) of the patient improved significantly (P < 0.0001) after the massage treatment; the Fugl-meyer (FMA) score of the patient's upper limbs improved significantly (P < 0.0001) after the massage treatment compared with that before the treatment. This indicates that tui-na treatment can effectively improve the patient's activities of daily living and the patient's upper limb motor function.  5. Discussion Stroke is characterized by "coexistence of disease and impairment", so rehabilitation and drug treatment should be carried out simultaneously. The recovery process of peripheral palsy is a quantitative change of muscle strength from small to large, while the recovery process of central palsy is a qualitative change of movement pattern. brunnstrom divided the recovery process of central palsy limbs into six stages: bradykinesia, spasticity, combined movement, partial dissociative movement, dissociative movement and normal. bobath divided it into three stages: bradykinesia, spasticity and relative recovery. Although they held different views on how to return patients from the bradykinesia to normal, they agreed that patients with hemiplegia have bradykinesia (hypotonia), spasticity (hypertonia), abnormal movement patterns, normal postural responses, and loss of motor control at different stages. These problems occur as a result of disruption of the central nervous system, loss of brain control over the regulation of lower centers, release of primitive reflexes, and interference with the conduction of normal movements. For the hemiplegia-based movement disorders caused by stroke, we choose point massage and 扌衮法 as the main techniques of treatment. Point massage at head, trunk and extremity acupuncture points can improve blood circulation in the brain and promote the recovery of cellular function in the hemiparetic area after stroke, as well as increase the input of sensory information and promote the activation of latent pathways and dormant synapses. In the selection of acupoints for spastic hemiplegia, acupoints on the antagonistic muscles are selected according to the characteristics of flexor spasm in the upper limbs and extensor spasm in the lower limbs, inversion and prolapse of the feet, etc. By stimulating the acupoints on the antagonistic muscles, the tension of the antagonistic muscles is inhibited and the contraction of the weak muscles is induced to promote the establishment of normal movement patterns.  According to TCM, point massage is mainly a tui na treatment method using point pressure, which is a kind of stimulation with small contact surface but relatively strong, with the effect of opening the meridians and channels, moving qi and activating blood. In the head and face, point pressure is applied to the points of the Governor's Vessel, Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian and Foot Sun Bladder Meridian to calm the liver and quench the wind, as well as to open the body and awaken the brain. The traditional view is that the main function of 扌衮 method in Tui Na manipulation is to relax the tendons and blood, smooth the joints, relieve muscle and ligament spasm, enhance their mobility, promote blood circulation ability and eliminate muscle fatigue. Guo et al. believe that when applying 扌衮法 to the spastic muscle side of the muscle abdomen to obtain deep tissue soreness and swelling, first of all, the stretching movement stimulates excitement for the tendon organ at the muscle-tendon junction, so that the afferent impulse of the ciliary organ inhibits the action of the a motor neuron of the muscle, which reduces muscle tone and relieves the muscle spasm. Secondly, the abdominal pulling of the muscle fibers by the skeletal muscle abdomen shortens the distance between the two ends of the muscle fibers decreases the tension of the muscle shuttle and reduces the excitatory effect of the a motor neurons of the muscle by the afferent impulses of the shuttle, thus decreasing the muscle tone, and the deep tissue soreness indicates the presence of excitatory effects on the sensory areas of the cerebral cortex, which is conducive to the inhibition of brainstem reticular allodynia, thus decreasing the muscle tone and relieving the spasm.  In this study, we found that point and 扌衮 method-based tui na treatment significantly improved the activities of daily living and upper limb motor function in stroke patients with hemiplegia sequelae. The differences before and after treatment were significant. Because it was a self-control before and after treatment and lacked a control group, its specific efficacy needs further controlled study.