Acupuncture for gait disturbance of patients with subacute and chronic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

INTRODUCTION: Hemiparetic gait is one of the most common sequelae of a stroke. Acupuncture has shown potential in correcting hemiplegic gait patterns and improving motor function recovery after stroke. However, controversial findings and a lack of supportive evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture for post-stroke hemiplegia. The intelligent gait analysis system provides a new perspective for the study of hemiparetic gait. This systematic review aims to collect relevant studies and critically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in alleviating gait disturbance of post-stroke hemiplegia based on quantified gait parameters. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane stroke group trials register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, AMED, three Chinese databases (Chinese Biomedical Literatures database (CBM), National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wan fang Digital Periodicals), four trails registries (The WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, The Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, The US National Institutes of Health Ongoing Trials Register, and The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry) will be conducted to identify randomised controlled trials of acupuncture for gait disturbance in post-stroke patients. No restrictions on language or publication status. The primary outcomes are gait temporospatial parameters (eg, step length, stride length, step width, step frequency (cadence), walking speed, etc), and gait kinematic parameters (eg, hip peak flex/extend angle, knee peak flex/extend angle, ankle peak dorsi/plantar-flexion angle, etc). We will assess bias using the approach recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. A meta-analysis will be conducted to synthesise the evidence for each outcome measure. The χ(2) test and I(2) statistic will be used for assessing heterogeneity between studies. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval is needed because no primary data is collected. Scientific conferences or peer-reviewed journals will publish the findings. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022384348.