Paralysis is the loss or impairment of voluntary muscular power. Paralysis can result from either diseases involving changes in the makeup of nervous or muscular tissue or those that are the result of metabolic disturbances that interfere with the function of nerves or muscles. Depending upon the cause, paralysis may affect a specific muscle group or region of the body, or a larger area may be involved. When only one side of the body is affected, the condition is known as hemiplegia. In other instances, both sides of the body may suffer the effects, leading to diplegia or bilateral hemiplegia. When only the lower limbs are affected by paralysis, it is called paraplegia. When all four limbs are affected, it is referred to as quadriplegia. The term palsy is sometimes used to refer to the loss of muscle power in a body part.

There is no doubt that acupuncture can be beneficial to a degree in treating some forms of paralysis after neurological damage. It is frequently used as a treatment after stroke, especially in Chinese hospital care, and its use is founded on the theory that the flow of energy, called 'qi' in Chinese medicine, has been disrupted by the stroke and needs to be reinstated as soon as possible. It is not uncommon for a course of treatment to be commenced on the day of the stroke itself. However, this itself is underpinned by an understanding of the cause of the disruption of energy in the first place, and even the Chinese medicine practitioners in Chinese hospitals may be less optimistic about the success of treatment after a physical injury of this magnitude. Continue to read TCM Treatment Evaluation for Epilepsy. 

 

However, in many cases the symptoms which people experience are rarely caused by single imbalances, and if the system as a whole has been badly affected by an injury there always remains a possibility that some of the symptoms have arisen from a secondary source and may be helped. As we have said, though, it would only be possible to give a more balanced and informed view by seeing the patient face to face.