Effect of Electroacupuncture Plus Eye Acupuncture Intervention on Neurological Deficit and Limb Recovery in Patients with Poststroke Hemiplegia

Abstract

Aims

To investigate the clinical effectiveness of eye acupuncture plus electroacupuncture on neurological deficit improvement and limb motor recovery in poststroke hemiplegic patients.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study based on a therapeutic strategies design was adopted. We recruited 275 patients with postischemic stroke hemiplegia who were admitted to our hospital between 2022 and 2025 and allocated them to the observation group (eye acupuncture + electroacupuncture + basic rehabilitation) and the control group (electroacupuncture + basic rehabilitation) according to the treatment regimen. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to balance baseline variations between the two groups. Changes in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) score, modified Barthel index (MBI), and fibrinolytic system indicators pre- and posttreatment were monitored in both groups, and the overall clinical efficacy was further compared between the two groups.

Results

After PSM, each group comprised 117 patients, and there were no statistically significant intergroup differences in baseline data (P > 0.05). Following treatment, the NIHSS score, FMA score, MBI, and fibrinolytic system indicators were all significantly improved in both study groups (P < 0.001), and the improvement in the observation group was markedly superior to that in the control group (P < 0.001). Meanwhile, there was no significant between-group difference in the incidence of adverse events (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Eye acupuncture plus electroacupuncture intervention can effectively alleviate neurological deficits, improve limb motor recovery, and enhance patients’ ADL with hemiplegia after ischemic stroke, which is a safe and effective comprehensive rehabilitation protocol.