Acupuncture in the Treatment of Abnormal Muscle Tone in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and routine treatment in improving dystonia in children with cerebral palsy. METHOD: The randomized controlled trials published from the establishment of the databases to August 2022 on acupuncture in the treatment of dystonia in children with cerebral palsy were collected and comprehensively searched in China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), weipu (VIP), Wanfang, SinoMed, PubMed, Excerpta medica database (EMBASE), and Cochrane Library. The literature was selected according to the established standards, the quality of the included studies was evaluated, the heterogeneity of the included studies was evaluated with the I(2) test, and the appropriate model was selected for analysis. Sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the reliability of the results, and a funnel plot was used to evaluate the publication bias. RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. The control group was treated with routine treatment and acupuncture combined with routine treatment. The outcome index showed that the effect in the treatment group was better: Modified Ashworth Scale score: −0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) (−0.62 to −0.41), p < 0.01. The treatment group showed reduced muscle tension to a greater extent (integral eletromyographic (iEMG) score: standard mean square deviation = −2.97, 95% CI (−4.87 to −1.06), p < 0.01). The effective rate in the control group was 74.2% and that in the treatment group was 91.5%, odds ratio = 3.70, 95% CI (2.02–6.78), p < 0.01. The funnel plot showed publication bias. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with routine training could improve muscle tension abnormalities and improve the efficiency of clinical treatment.