Electroacupuncture for girdle sensation following spinal cord injury as a false localizing sign: a case series

Background Girdle sensation is a distressing false localizing sign that may occur following cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), often presenting as circumferential trunk constriction with burning pain and sleep disturbance. Effective treatments for this condition remain limited. Case summary This case series describes two male patients (aged 52 and 45 years) who presented with girdle sensation following spinal cord injury. As symptoms were refractory to conventional pharmacological management with antispasmodics and analgesics, both patients underwent electroacupuncture (EA) at bilateral LU7 (Lieque), SI3 (Houxi), LI10 (Shousanli), and LI11 (Quchi). Symptom intensity and associated sleep disturbances were quantified utilizing the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Sleep Dysfunction Rating Scale (SDRS). Outcomes Both patients reported immediate relief from the girdle sensation following the initial electroacupuncture (EA) session. Over the two-week treatment course, VAS and SDRS scores decreased progressively, reflecting sustained pain reduction and enhanced sleep. No adverse events were observed. Conclusion This case series suggests that electroacupuncture is a promising non-pharmacological therapy for managing post-SCI girdle sensation. However, rigorous randomized controlled trials are warranted to validate its clinical efficacy and elucidate the underlying neuromodulatory mechanisms.