Medical Press

An article by Dr. Naeser summarizes the results from various acupuncture studies involving the treatment of central nervous system paralysis, including spinal cord injury and MS. The SCI studies basically parallel the results. IN the case of 42 MS patients, acupuncture improved muscle spasms, vision, sleep, sexual functioning, and bladder control. In one case, a woman, who had not been able to walk unassisted in 15 years, was able to walk unaided 100 feet after one-year of treatment.

Reference: Naeser, Margaret, PhD, LAc. “Acupuncture and Spinal Cord Injury - Summary of Key School of Medicine. URL: http://healingtherapies.info/acupuncture%20&%20SCI.htm)

In a study with 261 individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury, Dr. Gao and colleagues, showed that 95% of the patients had some improvement (eg. improved sensatoin, bowel and bladder function, spasms, and walking) after acupuncture treatment. Of these cases, 79% had been injured at least one year, indicating that patients should be treated with acupuncture as soon as possible after the injury. A T-9 paraplegic, two years post injury, after 10 days of treatment no longer needed a catheder to urinate. After an additional three-month treatment a year later, he was able to walk with crutches. It was speculated that acupuncture improves circulation surrounding the spinal cord; this, in turn, promotes regeneration.

Reference: “Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine” Vol. 16 (2), 1996, pp134-137.