Acupuncture can assist with speech recovery after stroke, and may be associated with increased activity in the damaged speech areas of the brain.
Seven patients with speech loss following a stroke, were treated with acupuncture three times per week for eight weeks. Patients classified as well-recovered, showed significant improvement in speech scores after receiving acupuncture. Functional MRI scans also showed significant correlation between changes in speech scores, and blood oxygen dependent signals in part of the brain associated with speech interpretation and understanding.
(An fMRI Study showing the effect of Acupuncture in Chronic Stage Stroke Patients with Aphasia. Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies, March 2010.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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