Published online Dec 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i34.12587
Peer-review started: September 6, 2022
First decision: October 11, 2022
Revised: October 26, 2022
Accepted: October 31, 2022
Article in press: October 31, 2022
Published online: December 6, 2022
Related studies have shown that acupuncture therapy, electrical stimulation of articulatory muscles, and speech training can improve the fluency and intelligibility of articulation in patients with post-stroke dysarthria. There is a relative lack of research on tri-tongue acupuncture with low-frequency electrical stimulation for the treatment of post-stroke dysarthria. We aim to improve speech function and clinical efficacy in patients with post-stroke dysarthria.
Whether low-frequency current stimulation combined with trigeminal acupuncture can improve the treatment effect of dysarthria in post-stroke patients remains unclear.
To investigate the clinical effects of tri-tongue acupuncture combined with low-frequency electrical stimulation in the treatment of dysarthria after stroke.
We conducted a randomized clinical trial. The control group was treated with triple tongue acupuncture and the treatment group was treated with both tri-tongue acupuncture and low-frequency electrical stimulation.
The overall efficacy in the treatment group was better than that in the control group (P < 0.05). After therapy, the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) scores, Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, and General Quality of Life Inventory (GQOLI-74) scores in the two groups significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the treatment group increased more significantly than that in the controls (P < 0.05).
Low-frequency electrical stimulation combined with tri-tongue acupuncture intervention can effectively ameliorate the symptoms of dysarthria in post-stroke patients and improve their quality of life and clinical efficacy.
Future studies should expand the sample size, standardize the selection of acupuncture points and manipulation techniques, and unify the criteria for evaluating the treatment efficacy.