Abstract Purpose: This study aims to systematically evaluate the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on spastic hemiplegia after stroke and to reveal research trends and hotspots through bibliometric analysis. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 relevant randomized controlled trials published between 2000 and 2024 were included, and analyzed using tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, RevMan 5.4, and Stata 17. Results: The results showed that the acupuncture treatment group significantly reduced muscle tone compared with the control group (MD = -0.52, 95% CI = -0.78 to -0.26, P Conclusions: "neural mechanisms," and "multimodal efficacy evaluation" in recent years, with China being the leading research country. The results of this study provide high-quality evidence for clinical practice, supporting electroacupuncture as the preferred treatment option for spastic hemiplegia after stroke, and recommending its combination with conventional rehabilitation therapies for a treatment duration of ≥4 weeks. Moreover, the study also provides references for future research directions, including the determination of optimal acupuncture parameters, exploration of neurobiological mechanisms, development of intelligent acupuncture devices, and strengthened international cooperation.
Liu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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