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Comparison of Electroacupuncture and Body Acupuncture on Gastrocnemius Muscle Tone in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Single Blinded, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

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Abstract

Objective

To compare the immediate effects of electroacupuncture (EA) and body acupuncture (BA) on gastrocnemius muscle tone in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods

Children with spastic CP, age from 24 to 60 months, who all received rehabilitation treatment in the Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, the First Hospital of Jilin University from April 2016 to May 2017 were enrolled in this trial and assigned to EA group and BA group through a random number table. Both EA and BA therapies were performed on acupoints of Zusanli (ST 36), Shangjuxu (ST 37), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), and Xuanzhong (GB 39) for 30 min once. The root mean square (RMS), integrated electromyogram (iEMG) of the gastrocnemius of surface electromyography (sEMG), and Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) of the two groups were evaluated before and after treatment. All adverse events were accurately recorded.

Results

Thirty-six children with spastic CP completed the study (18 cases and 32 legs in the EA group; 18 cases and 31 legs in the BA group). There was no significant difference in RMS, iEMG and MTS between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, compared with before treatment, RMS and iEMG significantly reduced and MTS (R2–R1) significantly increased in both EA and BA groups (P<0.05), and EA was more effective than BA in RMS and MTS (P<0.05). However, the iEMG between the two groups were not statistically significant after treatment (P>0.05). There was no serious adverse event during this clinical trial.

Conclusion

Both EA and BA could significantly relieve the gastrocnemius muscle tone in spastic CP, and EA was more effective than BA. (Registration No. ChiCTRONC-15007633)

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the contributions of the parents and children who took part in this study and the support and effort of numerous colleagues in the Department of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics of the First Hospital, Jilin University of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, China

    Li-li Wang, Ling Shan, Lin Du, Yu Zhang & Fei-yong Jia

Authors
  1. Li-li Wang
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  2. Ling Shan
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  3. Lin Du
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  4. Yu Zhang
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  5. Fei-yong Jia
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Contributions

Jia FY conceived, designed the experiments and participated in the discussion. Wang LL and Shan L performed the experiments. Du L analyzed and interpreted the data. Wang LL drafted the manuscript. Zhang Y finally approved of this manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fei-yong Jia.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest in this work.

Supported by the National Key Research and Development Project of China (No. 2016YFC1306204)

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Wang, Ll., Shan, L., Du, L. et al. Comparison of Electroacupuncture and Body Acupuncture on Gastrocnemius Muscle Tone in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Single Blinded, Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 26, 14–19 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-3082-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-019-3082-y

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