Clinical Efficacy of Repetitive Peripheral Magnetic Stimulation at Quchi （LI11） Acupoint on Improving Upper Limb Motor Function in Stroke Patients

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation (rPMS) at Quchi (LI11) acupoint on the upper limb motor function of stroke patients.MethodsA total of 32 patients with upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke who met the inclusion criteria were selected from May to October 2024 at the Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The patients were randomly assigned to control group and repetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation at LI11 acupoint (rPMS) group according to the method of concealed random number envelopes, with 16 patients in each group. Both the control group and the rPMS group received conventional drug and rehabilitation treatments. The rPMS group underwent LI11 acupoint rPMS treatment additionally. The treatment was given once a day, 5 days a week, for a total of 4 weeks.The Simplified Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and Brunnstrom upper extremity stages were used to evaluate the upper limb motor function of the two groups before and after treatment. The Modified Barthel Index (MBI) was employed to assess the activities of daily living of the two groups before and after treatment. Resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) signals of the two groups were collected before and after treatment, and the delta/alpha power ratio (DAR) and the (delta+theta)/(alpha+beta) power ratio (DTABR) were analyzed. The correlations between the FMA-UE scores, MBI scores, Brunnstrom upper extremity stages of the rPMS group after treatment and the EEG DAR and DTABR were analyzed.ResultsBefore treatment, there were no statistically significant differences in FMA-UE scores, MBI scores, Brunnstrom upper extremity stages, EEG DAR, and DTABR between the two groups (<italic>P</italic>&gt;0.05). Within-group comparisons showed that after treatment, the control group exhibited significantly increased FMA-UE scores and MBI scores (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05), and significantly decreased DAR (whole brain), DAR (frontal lobe), and DTABR (frontal lobe) (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05).After treatment, the rPMS group showed significantly increased FMA-UE scores, MBI scores, and Brunnstrom upper extremity stages (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05), along with significantly decreased DAR (whole brain), DAR (frontal lobe), DTABR (whole brain), and DTABR (frontal lobe) (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05). Between-group comparisons revealed that, when compared with the control group, the rPMS group showed significant increases in FMA-UE scores, MBI scores, and Brunnstrom upper extremity stages after treatment (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05). Meanwhile, the rPMS group exhibited significant decreases in DAR (whole brain), DAR (frontal lobe), DTABR (whole brain), and DTABR (frontal lobe) (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05). Correlation analysis revealed that, after treatment, the FMA-UE scores of the rPMS group were negatively correlated with EEG DAR (whole brain) (<italic>r</italic>=-0.612, <italic>P</italic>=0.012), EEG DAR (frontal lobe) (<italic>r</italic>=-0.525, <italic>P</italic>=0.037), and EEG DTABR (whole brain) (<italic>r</italic>=-0.539, <italic>P</italic>=0.031). There was no linear correlation between the FMA-UE scores and EEG DTABR (frontal lobe) (<italic>P</italic>&gt;0.05). There were no linear correlations between the MBI scores, Brunnstrom upper extremity stages and EEG DAR (whole brain, frontal lobe), as well as EEG DTABR (whole brain, frontal lobe) (<italic>P</italic>&gt;0.05).ConclusionRepetitive peripheral magnetic stimulation at the LI11 acupoint can improve the upper limb motor function after stroke.EEG indices such as DAR and DTABR can objectively reflect these functional changes.