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This comprehensive narrative review examined the effectiveness, mechanisms, and clinical application of neuromuscular-related treatments for post-stroke dysphagia — the difficulty swallowing that commonly follows a stroke. Researchers searched four major medical databases for studies published between 1995 and 2025, ultimately including 293 publications, of which more than half were randomised controlled trials.
The interventions reviewed were grouped into four broad categories: exercise training and behavioural approaches; peripheral neuromuscular stimulation; central nervous system modulation techniques; and other adjunctive treatments. Acupuncture was classified within the peripheral neuromuscular stimulation category, alongside neuromuscular electrical stimulation. These approaches were found to enhance or modulate swallowing function by directly stimulating relevant nerves and muscles involved in the swallowing process. The review also noted the potential relevance of meridian-muscle theory — a concept rooted in traditional Chinese medicine — for informing the management of post-stroke dysphagia.
The authors highlighted acupuncture, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation as among the most widely used interventions in current clinical practice. They recommended that future rehabilitation strategies integrate information about the underlying pathology, clinical presentation, and lesion location, combining central and peripheral neuromodulation approaches in a multimodal framework to improve patient outcomes.
Conclusion: This large narrative review supports acupuncture as a clinically relevant and widely applied peripheral neuromuscular intervention for post-stroke dysphagia, with recommendations for its integration into individualised multimodal rehabilitation strategies.
Source: Zhou M, Dong B, Zhou H and colleagues. Frontiers in neuroscience (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42422258) · doi:10.3389/fnins.2026.1824363