Acupuncture for cerebral palsy

A short course of tongue acupuncture can be effective in improving movement control and function in children with cerebral palsy. Acupuncture can be integrated as part of the neuro-rehabilitation programme.According to researchers from the University of Hong Kong, previous research has demonstrated the value of a brief course of tongue acupuncture in improving drooling in cerebral palsy patients. To investigate further, the team assessed whether daily tongue acupuncture, compared with sham acupuncture, given over 8 weeks could improve motor function in 33 children with cerebral palsy. Most children tolerated the tongue acupuncture procedure after initially crying in the first few sessions. It was found that movement scores improved from 78.82 to 82.99 after the tongue acupuncture, compared with smaller improvements from 65.35 to 67.29 after a similar course of sham acupuncture. In addition, scores in self-care, mobility, and self-care assistance improved significantly after tongue acupuncture, but did not change after sham acupuncture.In light of these findings, more research is needed to assess whether starting acupuncture in the earlier phase of brain injury would affect the final functional outcome.