Skip to content
Sponsored Content

Supporting stroke recovery through acupuncture

Father’s legacy helps Red Deer practitioner help others
9333804_web1_Red-Deer-Acupuncture-_-Tony-Situ
Yan Qi, left, a registered massage therapist, and acupuncturist Ning Li, right, with client Tony Situ, who sought treatment during his recovery from stroke.

Tony Situ was just 36 years old when a major stroke put him in a coma in the Red Deer Hospital.

Situ was saved by an amazing team of medical specialists, but when he emerged from the coma a month later, he couldn’t see. Seven years of treatment followed, and while he improved, he continued to struggle. He couldn’t open his left hand without assistance and visual impairment left him unable distinguish people at even a metre away, he says.

It was then he discovered the work of registered acupuncturist Ning Li and began another stage in his recovery with Red Deer Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Clinic. Through acupuncture treatment, Situ says he was eventually able to read the calendar and open his hand by himself, and follow-up with his neurologist allowed him to reduce his prescription medications, he says.

In addition to Li’s acupuncture training and certification, he also calls upon the extensive knowledge and training passed down from his father when creating an acupuncture treatment for stroke rehabilitation.

A therapy within Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture involves inserting ultra-fine needles at strategic points on the body to trigger specific results and stimulate the body’s natural ability to heal.

Alberta is one of a handful of provinces that currently regulates acupuncture, and the province’s College and Association of Acupuncturists notes that stroke is among a host of musculoskeletal and neurologic conditions that can see benefit from acupuncture, such as migraines, neck, shoulder and back page, arthritis and tendonitis.

Beyond musculoskeletal and neurologic conditions

Looking to other conditions that can benefit from traditional acupuncture from a professional registered acupuncturist, the college points to mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and insomnia, internal issues such as dizziness and chronic fatigue, and reproductive concerns including menstrual, menopause and fertility challenges.

Massage for fertility

Complementing Li’s acupuncture treatments, his wife, registered massage therapist Yan Qi, also supports patients’ wellness. Fertility is a key area of interest for Yan Qi, whose unique training draws on massage, specific pressure points on the body and tapping into the power of the subconscious mind. In fact, complementary treatments featuring both acupuncture and massage can boost couples’ reproductive wellness as they begin their families, Li notes.

***

Red Deer Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Clinic offers professional acupuncture, massage and herbal solutions to address a wide range of patient concerns.