SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1657802
Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine nursing in stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- 2Jinhua Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Jinhua, China
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Objective: Some clinical studies have suggested that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) nursing techniques may promote better recovery in stroke patients compared to conventional neurological nursing. However, high-quality evidence-based research is still lacking. This study selected two outcome indicators—motor function and activities of daily living (ADL)—to systematically evaluate the efficacy of TCM nursing techniques in the rehabilitation of stroke patients. Methods: Seven major Chinese and English databases were systematically searched. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) were used to evaluate motor function, while the Barthel Index (BI) was used to assess ADL. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on study characteristics to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 18 studies involving 1,419 patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that, compared with conventional care, the TCM nursing group demonstrated significantly better outcomes in FMA (SMD = 1.92, p = 0.0066), MAS (SMD = -0.82, p = 0.0416), and BI (SMD = 1.34, p < 0.0001). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses indicated that nursing model, stroke type, and risk of bias were not sources of heterogeneity. Conclusion: Compared to conventional care, TCM nursing techniques can significantly improve spasticity in stroke patients, and also provide some benefits for limb motor function and ADL. Given the high heterogeneity and poor GRADE assessment of FMA and BI, the above results should be interpreted with caution. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD420251006204.
Keywords: Stroke, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nursing, Motor function, Activities of Daily Living, Meta-analysis
Received: 01 Jul 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Li, Wu and Jiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhe Wu, The Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Mingyuan Jiao, Jinhua Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Jinhua, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.