ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture at the beginning and ending points of bicipital muscle on the superficial electromyography (sEMG) of the spastic limb in hemiplegia.Method Forty patients with spastic hemiplegia after cerebral stroke were divided by the random number table into a group of electroacupuncture at the beginning and ending points (group A) and a group of electroacupuncture at antagonistic muscles (group B). The former selected Ashi points at the beginning and ending points of bicipital muscle, while the latter selected points at the antagonistic muscles [Tianjing (TE10), Qinglingyuan (TE11), etc.], to receive perpendicular puncturing. The needles were retained for 30 min, and the sEMG of bicipital muscles in resting state was detected after the removal of the needles. The spastic bicipital muscle was examined by sEMG prior to the acupuncture treatment, and respectively after 2-week and 4-week acupuncture treatment, and the detected parameters included root mean square (RMS) and integrated electromyography (IEMG).ResultThe EMG and IEMG declined gradually in the two groups after the acupuncture treatment; the intra-group comparisons of the RMS and IEMG values at three time points, e.g. prior to acupuncture treatment, after 2-week acupuncture treatment and after 4-weekacupuncture treatment, showed that the values changed significantly compared to those at the previous time point (P0.05). The RMS and IEMG values presented same changing tendencies after 4-week acupuncture treatment in the two groups.ConclusionAcupuncture at the beginning and ending points and at the points on antagonistic muscles both can decrease the resting-state muscle tension in hemiplegia patients; sEMG is of certain significance in evaluating the treatment of hemiplegia.