Integrated Medicine Strongly Improves Post-Stroke Rehabilitative Performance in a Public Health Facility in Italy

Abstract

Since 2011, the Tuscany Regional Authority has been funding the use of Integrated Medicine (IM) in a clinical setting in Pitigliano Hospital, with the aim of testing the true efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in a hospital setting. The clinical setting also comprises the Manciano rehabilitation facility whose services include post-stroke rehabilitation. This study aims to establish if IM helps to improve the rehabilitation performance of stroke patients. The study compared 212 patients divided into two groups: 94 treated with IM (conventional therapy plus homeopathy and acupuncture) and 118 treated with conventional therapy alone. All patients were evaluated with the rehabilitation scores in use