Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Treating Dysphagia

Dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing which is a strong age-related issue and is a major health concern in older people society. Dysphagia can occur in the oropharyngeal or esophageal phase of swallowing. It is a significant risk factor may develop malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia which may become life-threatening when the condition becomes severe. It also is a frequent complication of stroke due to interruption or dysfunction of neural pathways (Hinkle & Cheever, 2014). There are 75% of cases of oropharyngeal dysphagia due to neurological causes such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia (White, O'Rourke, Ong, Cordato & Chan, 2008).

The reported study shows that dysphagia has been affecting 37% and 78 % of the stroke patient and dysphagia still persist in 11-50% post-stroke patient who has suffered at six months after stroke onset (Martino, Foley, Bhogal, Diamant, Speechley & Teasell, 2005). Nowadays, current standard practice mainly focuses on minimizing the risk of aspiration or choking, such as using the Nasogastric tube for feeding, positioning and having the dietary modification (i. e. using thickener), instead of treating the underlying causes. Besides, there is no recommended routine clinical treatment for dysphagia after stroke. Although current practice shows that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) with swallowing rehabilitation training may be an effective treatment for the post-stroke patient with dysphagia, the method may not apply to all patient due to some spectacular situation and do not evaluate the long-term effects (Park, Kim, Oh & Lee, 2012). On the other hand, there are some research shows that there is a relationship between swallowing function and quality of life. There is a lower score in those who are having dysphagia compare with those who are not having dysphagia which indicated that dysphagia would affect the quality of life (Eslick & Talley, 2008). Acupuncture has been widely used as an intervention in complications after stroke in Asia regions.

There is a new method of acupuncture combined with swallowing training called He’s Santong Needling method. The studies showed that acupuncture can the blood supply and blood circulation in brain region and regulate the connection of the cortex of swallowing reflection and coordinate motor movement of the swallow related muscle, regulating the Qi and blood of swallowing-related meridian and collateral. The whole treatment performed 5 days a week for 4 weeks and using three different kinds of acupuncture procedures: Weitong (normal needling), Wentong (Fire needling which provide mechanical and thermal stimulation) and Qiangtong (Bloodletting) which provide synergetic effects, with swallowing rehabilitation training such as appropriate dietary modification and direct behavioral exercise (i. e. effortful swallowing), it may beneficial to dysphagia patient.