Miscellaneous Treatments

The medical management of stroke is often a dynamic process. While treatment regimens have been established, practitioners and patients are constantly searching for new techniques to improve patient outcomes. The use of treatments not traditionally taught in medical schools has begun to gain popularity. Reports suggest that up to 40% of adults living in the United States and elsewhere have used some form of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine to treat a health problem (Astin et al. 2000). Physicians and researchers are also using standard interventions in new ways to treat difficult medical complications. New applications for medications and technologies are regularly being evaluated.

In this review, we examine the use of miscellaneous treatments as they relate to patients who have suffered a stroke. Evidence regarding complimentary and alternative medicine, medications used for the treatment of motor and language recovery, and new technological therapies are evaluated. Alternative therapies include acupuncture, traditional Chinese patent medicine, Reiki, and massage therapy. Medications include those specifically used to aid in motor and language recovery. New technological therapies assessed are hyperbaric oxygen therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and motor cortex stimulation.