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With an increased amount of individuals seeking for a healthcareservice, acupuncture becomes one of popular medical treatmentused in many clinical settings. Many clinicians apply the use ofacupuncture in the way of treating patients who had a stroke orhaving a paraplegia caused by stroke (Tortora & Derrickson, 2009).

However, the application of acupuncture in the medical field canalso encompass a wide range of neurological disorders resultedfrom various causes (Wong, Cheuk, Lee & Chu, 2011). Thisassignment aims to discuss the prophylactic use of acupuncture totreat and rehabilitate those who suffered a traumatic brain injury(TBI). 3 randomized controlled trials studied in China will be closelyillustrated in order to highlight the clinical importance ofacupuncture in the use of treating TBI. Finally, the possible use ofacupuncture in New Zealand clinical settings will also be discussed.

Traumatic brain injury results from the external force directly

applied to the brain and compromise the neurological function ofthe body (MedlinePlus, 2011). TBI may cause various range ofsymptoms depending on its impact on the specific areas of thebrain. The individuals with a mild TBI may suffer a continuousepisode of concussion and headache, while the individual with aheavy trauma may suffer neurological impairments such as aparaplegia, conduction aphasia or even blindness () Prompt medicaltreatment is imperative in case of mild and severe TBI.

Overall, 3 randomized controlled trials are examined with a variousmethodologies and clinical outcomes. Cao, Qin and Hou (2001)

investigated the effects of hyperbaric oxygen with a complete bodyelectro-acupuncture on the 67 treatment group compared withother 67 control group who received just a hyperbaric oxygen. Theparticipants were aged from 3 to 71 who were suffering clinicallydiagnosed neurological disorders resulted from the TBI. Both BarthelIndex (BI) and muscle strength grading systems are used todetermine the efficacy of the electro-acupuncture on the treatmentgroup. However, there are some concerns regarding thecharacteristics of the participants. For example, the severity of thepatients recruited in the study is different. Wong, Cheuk, Lee and

Chu (2011) criticized that the participants in the control groupshowed much better upper limb motor power than those in thetreatment group. Obviously, there is a bias issue as theeffectiveness of the treatments may have been exaggerated.

The other study carried out by Chang (2005) also investigated theeffectiveness of electro-acupuncture on those with neurologicaldisorders caused by TBI. Overall, 50 participants were divided into32 treatment group (receiving the electro-acupuncture as well asnormal rehabilitation training as part of the program) and 18 controlgroup (receiving just the rehabilitation training). The age groups of

the total participants vary from 7 to 58 years old. The studyoutcomes were measure by using Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and

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Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) in the first and third month of thestudy period. Blinding is a main issue in Changs study. This maycause unexpected confounding between the participants and theoverall study results might have been contaminated.

The study done by Song (2007) also highlights the use of electro-acupuncture on the TBI patients. Song (2007) recruited total 50participants (12 to 70 years old) who were randomly allocated into30 treatment group receiving the electro-acupuncture, scalpelectro-acupuncture and conventional medical intervention and thecontrol group who just received the conventional medicalintervention. The outcomes were measured by measuring theGlasgow Outcome score in the first month of the study. Again,Wong, Cheuk, Lee and Chu (2011) point the blinding issue as theplacebo effect could have been resulted.

Although the presence of bias in each study may be a minordrawback, all studies show the positive effectiveness of the use ofacupuncture on the TBI patients suffering the neurologicaldisorders.