Preliminary findings from an acupuncture and experiential/traditional music therapy during the standard care of rehabilitation exercise program for recovery on post-stroke upper limb dysfunction

Purpose/aim of the study: Upper limb dysfunction is common damage after stroke posing an important challenge for post-stroke rehabilitation but little is known about the effects of combined therapy with acupuncture and experiential/traditional music during the standard care of rehabilitation exercise program. The aim of this study, therefore, was to systematically assess the effects of exercise rehabilitation program accompanied by experiential music or/+ acupuncture for clinical recovery on post-stroke upper limb dysfunction.Materials and methods: This was a randomized controlled study with a total of 116 eligible subjects randomly divided into three groups, namely (1) MG group-(daily listening to experiential/traditional music), (2) AP/MG group (combined treatment with daily listening to experiential/traditional music and AP), and (3) CG group (with no experiential/traditional music therapy or acupuncture (standard care only), in a 1.3:1:1 ratio.Results: The primary outcomes in this study were the changes between baseline score during the admission and after 6 months Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity and the recovery. The secondary outcomes are the mean change in the scores between baseline value during the admission and after 6 months on the Visual Analogue Scale, mini-mental test, Barthel index and Computer tomography Perfusion findings- cerebral blood flow.Conclusions: The results of this study clarify the synergistic effects of acupuncture and daily listening to experiential/traditional music during the standard care rehabilitation program on upper limb dysfunction after stroke.