Comprehensive treatment of sequelae of traumatic brain injury

  Craniocerebral trauma is an extremely common neurosurgical disease caused by a series of pathological changes after an external blow that causes skull fracture, brain contusion, and craniocerebral hematoma, resulting in secondary ischemia and hypoxia, which leads to hemiparesis. Craniocerebral trauma syndrome belongs to the category of encephalopathy in traditional Chinese medicine, which is caused by damage to brain channels after traumatic brain injury, stagnation of qi and blood stasis, inaccessibility of meridians and channels, and pain if they do not pass; for a long time, the kidney essence is insufficient, which can lead to emptiness of the brain and loss of essence.  At present, there has been great progress in the treatment technology of traumatic brain injury, but there is still no clear and effective clinical treatment, especially for patients with severe craniocerebral injury. Although timely clinical treatment has significantly increased their survival rate, the incidence of sequelae has not been significantly reduced, especially lower limb paralysis, dementia, aphasia and incontinence, which are still common sequelae of severe traumatic brain injury. Clinical data show that the majority of traumatic brain injury paralysis is caused by damage to upper motor neurons resulting in spastic paralysis or lower motor neurons resulting in delayed paralysis, or a combination of both injuries.  Many clinical studies have confirmed that recovery is possible after CNS injury and that acupuncture treatment has an important pro-rehabilitation role. Acupuncture treatment can change the excitability of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, revive reversible nerve cells or inhibited nerve cells, strengthen the coordination between cortical functions and compensatory effects, and thus promote the recovery of neurological functions. Acupuncture can also promote blood supply to the brain, improve local blood circulation in the affected limbs, and prevent further muscle atrophy, which is conducive to the improvement of the patient’s physique and recovery of limb function, and the treatment effect is significantly better than conventional rehabilitation treatment.  The massage technique also has the function of activating blood circulation and harmonizing qi and blood, so the combined treatment of acupuncture, moxibustion and massage is more beneficial to the recovery of patients. In addition, acupoint injection therapy concentrates the dual efficacy of drugs and acupuncture. The therapist uses drugs that improve cerebral circulation, nourish brain cells and promote awakening to act on important treatment points, which can better exert the effect of drugs and the efficacy of acupuncture.  Therefore, patients with sequelae of craniocerebral injury should use acupuncture plus acupoint injection therapy as early as possible to facilitate the recovery of consciousness, speech and motor ability and improve the quality of life. From the statistical data, acupuncture, tui na plus acupoint injection integrated treatment of hemiplegia caused by craniocerebral trauma has the most ideal clinical efficacy. Various TCM rehabilitation treatments such as acupuncture, tui-na and acupoint injection can be selected according to the patient’s physical and economic conditions to promote the improvement of the condition.  The acupuncture and massage room of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine is an important auxiliary treatment room for the rehabilitation of inpatients recovering from traumatic brain injury or its sequelae, equipped with experienced acupuncture and massage technicians to provide professional rehabilitation treatment such as acupuncture, massage and acupoint injection for patients, which plays an important role in promoting the recovery of physical functions and limb functions of patients with traumatic brain injury and is well received by patients!