• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.99-107
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• 2015

Objectives : This study was designed to obtain basic data for a further large-scale trial as evaluating the efficacy and safety of Geochangmanryeung-dan(GMD) and acupuncture on patient with spinal stenosis treated by epidural steroid injection. Methods: The study is a randomized controlled pilot clinical trial, conducted over 8 weeks. Twenty participants will be recruited and randomly allocated to 2 groups: an experimental(GMD and acupuncture with epidural steroid injection) group and a control(only epidural steroid injection) group. The epidural steroid injection will be administered once per 2 weeks for 6 weeks(3 times in total). GMD will be administered as a dose of 5 pills, 3 times per day, for 6 weeks. Acupuncture will be performed 2 times per week for 6 weeks(12 times in total). The primary outcome will be measured by visual analogue scale and self-rated walking distance. The secondary outcome will be measured by PainVision, short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire, and Oswestry Disability Index. Both primary and secondary outcomes will be measured at baseline, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. The last assessment(at 8 weeks) will be performed 2 weeks after treatment cessation. Conclusions : This clinical trial, as the pilot study for a future large-scale trial, will provide clinical information for evaluating the efficacy and safety of GMD and acupuncture treatment in combination with epidural steroid injection for the treatment of spinal stenosis.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.130-138
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to explore patients' perceptions that deserve attention when designing core questions for a clinical practice guideline of Korean medicine(KM) for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Methods : Patients who had been admitted to Pusan National Korean Medicine Hospital from November 1, 2015 to October 31, 2016 were invited to the survey. Patients were eligible if they were both clinically and radiologically confirmed as degenerative LSS. The structured questionnaire was distributed by mail and outpatient visits. Questions included types of experienced Korean/Western medical interventions for LSS, their perceived effectiveness on symptoms, the necessity for studies of KM for degenerative LSS, the types of KM interventions to be investigated and the types of outcome measures after treatments. Data were descriptively analysed. Results : Twenty of thirty-one invited participants responded to the questionnaire. Acupuncture and herbal medicine were the most frequently used KM interventions. Eighteen respondents reported that KM treatments were helpful for their improvement. Sixteen patients who mentioned that research on KM is needed chose acupuncture as the top priority(88%) among KM interventions. The most important outcomes in the view of nineteen respondents included functional recovery (68%) and pain relief (53%). Thirteen respondents (65%) replied that both short-term and long-term outcome were important for them. Conclusions : Our findings may have limited validity due to the small number of respondents and the potential selection and information bias. Further qualitative studies and large-scale surveys to comprehensively identify patients' views are warranted.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.195-201
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• 2020

Spinal epidural lipomatosis is a rare disorder characterized by overgrowth of fat in the extradural space, causing spinal stenosis with compression of the neural elements. This study reports on the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment on a patient who was diagnosed on lumbar stenosis with lipomatosis. The patient was treated with Korean traditional medicine including pharmacopucture, acupuncture, Chuna manual treatment, and Korean herbal medicine, cupping. Numerical rating scale (NRS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), Euroqol five dimension (EQ-5D) index, lumbar range of motion were used as objective tools for evaluating the patient's progress. Back NRS decreased from 6 to 3. In the case of lower limbl radiation NRS, 5 was reduced to 3 upon discharge. EQ-5D index also increased from 0.751 to 0.766. For ODI, the score dropped from 26.67 to 24.44 on hospitalization. As a result, clinical improvements were found in a patient. In conclusion, this study shows that Korean medicine treatment can be considered as effective conservative care for spinal stenosis with lipomatosis.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2012

The treatments for spinal canal stenosis are radicular cyst removal, spine fusion, and implantation of an artificial intervertebral disc. Artificial intervertebral discs have been most widely used since the mid-2000s. The study of artificial intervertebral discs has been focused on the analysis of the axial rotation, lateral bending, the degrees of freedom of the disc, and flexion-extension of the vertebral body. The issue of fatigue failure years after the surgery has arisen as a new problem. Hence, study of artificial intervertebral discs must be focused on the fatigue failure properties and increased durability of the sliding core. A finite element model based on an in the artificial intervertebral disc (SB Charit$\acute{e}$ III) was produced, and the influence of the radius of curvature and the change in the coefficient of friction of the sliding core on the von-Mises stress and contact pressure was evaluated. Based on the results, new artificial intervertebral disc models (Models-I, -II, and -III) were proposed, and the fatigue failure behavior of the sliding core after a certain period of time was compared with the results for SB Charit$\acute{e}$ III.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2007

Background: Lipo-prostaglandin E1 (Lipo-$PGE_1$) has vasodilating and platelet aggregation inhibitory characteristics and it has been used as a treatment for patients with blood flow dysfunction disease. Based on the mechanisms of lumbar spinal stenosis, including veno congestion, neuro-ischemia and mechanical compression, we aimed to study whether intravenous Lipo-$PGE_1$ injection has any therapeutic effect on hyperalgesia in a rat foraminal stenosis model. Methods: In this study, twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into the control (n = 10) and Lipo-$PGE_1$ (n = 10) groups. A small stainless steel rod was inserted into the L5-6 intervertebral foramen to induce intervertebral foramen stenosis and chronic DRG compression. In the Lipo-$PGE_1$ group, $0.15{\mu}g/kg$ of Lipo-$PGE_1$ were injected intravenously via a tail vein for 10 days starting from the $3^{rd}$ day after operation. Behavioral testing for mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia was performed for 3 weeks after the injections. Results: From the $10^{th}$ day after Lipo-$PGE_1$ injection, the rats in the experimental group showed significant recovery of their mechanical threshold, and this effect was maintained for 3 weeks. No significant differences of the thermal hyperalgesia were observed between the two groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that intravenously injected Lipo-$PGE_1$ may be effective for alleviating neuropathic pain, which isthe main symptom of spinal stenosis, by improving the blood flow dysfunction.