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Essay / Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Dysphagia
Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, which is an age-related problem and is a major health problem in the elderly society. Dysphagia can occur during the oropharyngeal or esophageal phase of swallowing. This is a significant risk factor for developing malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia which can be life-threatening when the illness becomes severe. It is also a common complication of stroke due to disruption 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). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayReported study shows that dysphagia affects 37% and 78% of stroke patients and dysphagia still persists in 11 to 50% of post-stroke patients. patient who suffered a stroke six months after the onset of the stroke (Martino, Foley, Bhogal, Diamant, Speechley & Teasell, 2005). Nowadays, current standard practice focuses primarily on minimizing the risk of aspiration or choking, such as using a nasogastric tube for feeding, positioning, and changing diet (this is i.e. using a thickener), instead of treating the underlying causes. Furthermore, there is no recommended routine clinical treatment for dysphagia after stroke. Although current practice shows that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) with swallowing rehabilitation training can be an effective treatment for post-stroke dysphagia patients, the method may not be applicable to all patients due to a spectacular situation and does not assess the long-term impact. effects (Park, Kim, Oh & Lee, 2012). On the other hand, some research shows that there is a relationship between swallowing function and quality of life. There is a lower score in those who suffer from dysphagia than in those who do not suffer from dysphagia, indicating that dysphagia would affect quality of life (Eslick and Talley, 2008). Acupuncture has been widely used as an intervention for complications after stroke in Asian regions. There is a new method of acupuncture combined with swallowing training called He's Santong Needling method. Studies have shown that acupuncture can ensure blood supply and circulation in the brain region, regulate the connection of the thinking cortex of swallowing, and coordinate the motor movement of the muscle related to swallowing, thereby regulating the Qi and blood from the meridian and collateral linked to swallowing. The entire treatment is performed 5 days a week for 4 weeks and uses three different types of acupuncture procedures: Weitong (normal needling), Wentong (fire needling which provides mechanical and thermal stimulation) and Qiangtong (bloodletting) which provide synergistic effects, with swallowing rehabilitation. training such as appropriate diet modification and direct behavioral exercises (i.e., effortful swallowing), this may be beneficial for dysphagic patients.