Therapeutic Efficacy and Underlying Mechanisms of Penetrating Needling from Qiuxu (GB40) to Zhaohai (KI6) for Post-Stroke Lower Limb Dysfunction

INTERVENTION: experimental group:penetrating needling from Qiuxu (GB 40) to Zhaohai (KI 6);control group:manual acupuncture at Qiuxu (GB 40) and Zhaohai (KI 6) with separate needle insertion; CONDITION: stroke PRIMARY OUTCOME: Fugl‐Meyer Assessment of Lower Extremity (FMA‐LE); SECONDARY OUTCOME: functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS);Manual Muscle Testing (MMT);Berg Balance Scale (BBS);Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS);surface electromyography (sEMG); INCLUSION CRITERIA: (1) Age 30–80 years; (2) In the subacute stroke phase, with onset time between 2 weeks and 6 months; (3) Presence of lower limb motor dysfunction; (4) Cognitive function sufficient to meet the requirements for study cooperation, with a Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) score = 24; (5) Native Chinese speaker; (6) Right‐handed as determined by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory; (7) Vital signs stable and able to cooperate in completing the study procedures; (8) The subject or their legal guardian provides informed consent and signs a written informed consent form.