Effect of acupuncture on improving the quality of life in children with cerebral palsy and their parents / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the spleen-strengthening and mind-regulating acupuncture method on the quality of life of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and their parents. Methods:A total of 76 CP children were randomly allocated into a treatment group (n=38) and a control group (n=38) according to their visit sequence. The CP children and their parents in both groups received the same psychological counselling. The CP children in the treatment group were intervened with spleen-strengthening and mind-regulating acupuncture method, versus routine acupuncture method in the control group. The parents of CP children in the treatment group were intervened with three mind-regulating points, versus placebo in the control group. The developmental quotients were evaluated using the Gesell scale before and after treatment. The anxieties of parents were assessed using the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) before and after treatment. The efficacies were evaluated using the comprehensive functional assessment of CP children. Results:After 6 months of treatment, the Gesell scores of CP children and SAS scores of the parents were significantly improved in both groups, and there were intra-group and inter-group statistical differences (bothP Conclusion:The spleen-strengthening and mind-regulating acupuncture method can effectively improve the comprehensive ability of CP children, alleviate the anxiety in parents of CP children, improve the quality of life of CP children and their parents, and play an active role in rehabilitative care of CP children.