Acupuncture acupoints of spine and lower limb for pediatric backbend-induced thoracic spinal cord injury: Four case reports and literature review

Article type: Case Report

Authors: Piao, Honglan | Li, Han | Zhang, Jinming^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Jinming Zhang, Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China. E-mail: 2761413942@qq.com.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Backbend-induced pediatric thoracic spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality (BBPT-SCIWORA) in children is rare in clinical practice and leads to lower limb motor dysfunction. There are few clinical studies on BBPT-SCIWORA and even fewer on treatments for BBPT-SCIWORA-induced lower limb motor dysfunction. OBJECTIVE:To explore the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at bilateral spine acupoints combined with lower limb acupoints in BBPT-SCIWORA. CASE PRESENTATION:This study reported four cases of BBPT-SCIWORA after dancing, two of which received a unique medium-frequency electroacupuncture treatment. They were all females aged between 5 and 12 years old. They were diagnosed with BBPT-SCIWORA by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), transferred to the rehabilitation department for lower limb dysfunction, and received rehabilitation treatments and acupuncture. Cases 1 and 2 received acupuncture treatment for lower limb acupoints, while Cases 3 and 4 received acupuncture treatment at the bilateral spine acupoints beside the lesion and lower limb acupoints. Cases 3 and 4 achieved better American spinal injury association (AIS) grades and lower extremity motor scores (LEMS) than Cases 1 and 2 after treatment. CONCLUSION:Acupuncture treatment of beside bilateral spine acupoints plus lower limb acupoints therapy might facilitate early lower limb motor function recovery in children with BBPT-SCIWORA.

Keywords: BBPT-SCIWORA, beside bilateral spine acupoints, lower limb motor dysfunction, case report

DOI: 10.3233/NRE-230006

Journal: NeuroRehabilitation, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 161-166, 2023