In terms of Five Phases Theory, a stroke is a violent breakdown in the communication between Fire and Water, the basic polarities of life.

Life comes into being by the union of these opposites and throughout its course, the two have to continuously balance and support each other in order to achieve healthy functioning of body and spirit.
In health, Water moderates Fire while Fire warms Water. In a stroke, Heart Fire explodes and overwhelms Kidney Water. Wood is damaged because Water is no longer able to nourish it. Heart is where the spirit resides and finds its expression via speech: it is said that "the tongue is the sprout of the Heart". Kidney governs bones and the brain while Wood governs nerves and sinews. These functions are now in disarray. The Sanjiao channel, which distributes the Source Qi from the Kidneys to enable the energetics of all the other channels, is also disrupted. The result is the loss of the Yang functions of the body, most commonly speech, movement and memory.

Click on this link to see how acupuncture promotes neural repair after a stroke:
http://www.energymedicinechicago.com/about/blog/acupuncture-effective-st...