Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Theory and Practice ›› 2025, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (10): 1117-1120.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-9771.2025.10.001

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Spatiotemporal effect and mechanism of the integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine brain-limb coordinated rehabilitation

YAN Tiebin1,2(), XU Qi3,4   

  1. 1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510120, China
    2. Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Rehabilitation and Elderly Care, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510120, China
    3. The Fifth Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen, Fujian 361101, China
    4. Department of Clinical Medicine, Xiamen Medical College, Xiamen, Fujian 361023, China
  • Received:2025-07-24 Revised:2025-09-10 Published:2025-10-25 Online:2025-11-10
  • Contact: YAN Tiebin, E-mail: dr.yan@126.com
  • Supported by:
    Fujian Science and Technology Planning(2022Y01020084);National Natural Science Foundation of China(81772447)

Abstract:

The theoretical framework of the integrated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine brain-limb coordinated rehabilitation encompasses twelve intervention models, formed by combining four spatial combinations (brain-area Western medicine/TCM + upper/lower limb intervention of TCM/Western medicine) and three temporal sequences (brain-first, limb-first and simultaneous), exhibiting significant condition dependence (e.g., types of disease, treatment course, baseline status) and population heterogeneity. Transcranial direct current stimulation combined with limb rehabilitation can produce synergistic effects in some cases, but may also result in limited benefits or antagonistic effects. Currently, there is a particular lack of clinical studies that systematically compare the effects of different temporal sequences (brain-first, limb-first, simultaneous). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy has been relatively maturely applied to reveal the brain function regulation mechanisms underlying brain-limb coordinated rehabilitation.

Key words: brain-limb coordinated rehabilitation, integrated traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, transcranial direct current stimulation, spatiotemporal combinatorial effects

CLC Number: