Li Zizhong, Zhao Zhong and Hong Yuan

Cerebrovascular disease, one of clinical common diseases, is characterized by high morbidity rate, high mortality rate, high disability rate, multiple complications and low cure rate, may relapse even after clinical cure or even develops cerebrovascular dementia, which severely affects the life quality of the patient. It has been demonstrated by large amounts of clinical pratice in traditional Chinese medicine that non-pharmaotherapy in convalescence of cerebrovascualr disease often receives satisfactory results. Non-pharmacotherapy, easy to operate, cheap in cost and confirmative in therapeutic effect, plays an increasingly important role in medical circles of the world.
Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy It regulates vital energy to treat diseases by stimulating certain superficial parts. As early as in the《A-B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion》, there were records of treating cerebrovascular disease with acupuncture and moxibustion. Zhu Danxi put forward in his medical book《Danxi's Experiential Therapy》: "In the presence of apoplexy, acupuncture and moxibustion may be applied over such acupoints as Fengch'ih (GB20), Paihui (Du20), Ch'ü ch'ih (He-Sea Point, LI 11), Hoku (Yuan-Source Point, LI 4), Fengshih (GB 31), Chüehku (GB 39), Huant'iao (GB30) and Tsusanli (He-Sea Point, St 36). That is to say cerebrovascular disease may be treated with acupuncture and moxibustion.
Body Acupuncture Therapy Those who have apoplexy involving the channels

Author's unit: Guangdong Gaoming Medical and Medicinal Institute of Encephalopathy, Gaoming, Guangdong 528500
and collaterals with hemiplegia and paralysis of limbs as its main manifestations should be treated by regulating the channels and promoting flow of qi and blood. Points selected are Chienyu (LI 15), Ch'üch'ih (He-Sea Point, LI 11), Waikuan (Luo-Connecting Point, SJ 5), Hoku (Yuan-Source Point, LI 4), Huant'iao (GB 30), Yanglingch'üan (He-Sea Point, GB34), Tsusanli (He-Sea Point, St 36), and Fengshih (GB31); in the presence of wry mouth with salivation, such points as Hsiakuan (St 7), Tits'ang (St 4), and Chiach'e (St 6) may be added; in the presence of abundant expectoration and greasy fur, Fenglung (Luo-Connecting Point, St 40), P'ishu (Back-Shu Point of the Spleen, UB 20) and Kungsun (Luo-Connecting Point, Sp4) may be added; and in the presence of thin physique and red tongue with few fur, Shenshu (Back-Shu Point of the Kidney, UB 23) and T'aihsi (Shu-Stream and Yuan-Source Point, k 3) may be added.
Scalp Acupuncture Therapy It is a new-type therapy developed based on the theory of orientation of cerebral cortex according to science of acupuncture and moxibustion in traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine and has a distinct therapeutic effect on cerebrovascular disease. Motor areas of cerebrum of contralateral scalp of paralytic limb are punctured by twirling the needle after insertion at a rate of 200 times/minute to make a limb needling sensation of fever, numbness, distension or pressure for 1 minute and repeatedly twirling the acupuncture needle is made at an interval of 5-10 minutes, once a day, 10 days being a course of treatment. Electrotherapy may also be used in which the affected lateral part and the healthy one are needled alternately, 30 minutes each time, once a day, 15 days being a course of treatment. Usually, scalp acupuncture therapy and body acupuncture therapy are used alternately, or one acupuncture therapy is taken as the main factor and the other as the secondary, thus significantly improving therapeutic effect.
Massotherapy It is suitable for hemiparalysis due to apoplexy. Generally, treatment in early stage of the disease has better therapeutic effect, massotherapy can be applied when the state of illness in acute stage of cerebrovascular disease has tended towards stability (about two weeks). For mild cases in acute stage, convalescence and sequela stage it can also be applied. The usual manipulations are pushing manipulation, grasping manipulation, palm-rubbing technique, poking channels method, chiropractic, foulage, rolling and rotating manipulation, beating manipulation, and tapping manipulation. Generally, the manipulation should be carried out from gentleness to heaviness and from proximal end to distal end of extremities. Point selection can also be used in massotherapy. For the upper limbs such acupoints as Chienliao (SJ 14), Ch'üch'ih (He-Sea Point, LI 11), Ch'ihtse (He-Sea Point, Lu 5), Shaoshang (Jing-well, Lu 11), Shousanli (LI 10) and Hoku (Yuan-Source Point, LI 4) can be selected; for lower limbs Huant'iao (GB30), Fengshih (GB 31), Tsusanli (He-Sea Point, St 36) and Yanglingch'üan (He-Sea Point, GB 34) are selected; and for those with wry mouth with distorted eyes Taiyang (Extra), Tsanchu (UB 2), Chingming (UB 1), Chiach'e (St 6) and Tits'ang (St 4) can be selected.
Treatment of contracture of joint with both Chinese drugs and acupuncture and moxibustion alone is often unsatisfactory, the additional massotherapy has the effects of dredging the channel, easing joint movement, and promoting the flow of qi and blood in the channel, thus making the limb functions gradually restore. This is also the superiority of traditional Chinese medicine in treating cerebrovascular disease.
Motortherapy It is also known as physical therapy, that is, to attain the goal of preventing and treating disease by means of adequate physical exercises. Traditional Chinese medicine is rich in motortherapy, such as five mimic-animal boxing, shadow boxing, and baduanjin. For patients with hemiplegia in convalescence, physical functional training should be done unremittingly.
Dietotherapy Light food should be taken, diet should consist of low caloric, low cholesterol, low fat and low salt foods which contain polyvitamins, multiple inorganic salts and multiple fibrins.
In acute stage of cerebrovascular disease, nasal feeding includes vegetable soup and mung bean decoction for the purpose of clearing away heat and toxic material in addition to mixed milk. For patients who have insufficiency of the spleen with overabundance of dampness, decoction of coix seed, red bean and fresh Chinese yam can be used for nasal feeding