Dr Hung Acupuncture Clinic

For seven years, I worked as a doctor in the Department of Acupuncture at Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of TCM. Longhua is a leading university hospital, reputed in China for its Traditional Chinese Medicine faculty. Our work in the department included clinical practice, teaching and research. In our Department, over 20% of outpatients and 50% of inpatients were diagnosed with a cerebrovascular accident and suffered stroke-induced conditions such as paralysis, visual impairment, speech and swallowing problems etc. Acupuncture was usually selected as the primary choice for managing these conditions. We started daily treatment 3-7 days after an ischemic stroke or two weeks, if after a hemorrhagic stroke.

Our clinical observations were published in China alongside a few government funded research groups, which had monitored thousands of patients. The reports concluded that acupuncture provides significant benefits in physical functioning and recovery. Our work at Longhua hospital demonstrated that stroke patients who are treated by acupuncture in the first 12 months post-stroke recover faster, perform better and require less rehabilitation therapy. The earlier it is performed, the better. Ultimately, the treatment results in less distress, burdens and expense for families. Acupuncture is a safe treatment when performed by a formally trained medical doctor. During my time at Longhua hospital, I did not hear of a single accident related to acupuncture treatment. The risk of the treatment is very low when considering the fact that our department treated over 100,000 outpatients and discharged hundreds of inpatients each year.