Ten Years After: A Case for Using Xing Nao Kai Qiao Acupuncture to Treat Post-Stroke Aphasia

Aphasia is a communication disorder experienced by many patients following a stroke. In this case, the Xing Nao Kai Qiao (XNKQ) method of acupuncture was effective in treating a 96-year old female with aphasia 10 years following the ischaemic stroke that caused the speech impairment. This patient had completed traditional speech therapy in the year following her stroke, with little improvement. However, a three-month course of acupuncture 10 years after the stroke yielded dramatic improvement in her communication. She showed improved ability to choose appropriate nouns and verbs, including using her son’s name correctly for the first time in nearly a decade. Weekly scores in the online assistive therapy application, Conversation Therapy Lite, increased from an average of 20 per cent correct to 30 to 50 per cent correct. She experienced greater fluidity of speech, improved ability to craft sentences, greater overall alertness, as well as improvements in sleep and energy level. She also had a significant decrease in symptoms of senility which had developed a few years prior to treatment, as reported by the son with whom she lives.