• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.760-766
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• 2021

Objectives: This study investigated the effectiveness of Dong's acupuncture for pain associated with a varicocele. Methods: A 23-year-old male patient visited for pain due to varicocele that occurred on March 2 and was treated with acupuncture and moxibustion three times on March 16, 17, and 19. The Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) was used to evaluate the patient's pain. Results: After the three treatments, the NRS scores decreased, and the patient's subjective symptoms improved. Also, the patient required no medication for a week from the date of treatment start. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that Korean medicine may be an option for treating a painful varicocele, but further research is required for confirmation.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.982-990
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• 2021

Objectives: The aim of this study was to report the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment for a patient with lateral medullary infarction who presented with central dizziness and hypoesthesia. Methods: The patient was treated with Korean medicine treatment, including acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine. We measured the progress of the case using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). Results: After the treatment, the NRS scores for dizziness and hypoesthesia decreased. Conclusions: This study suggests that Korean medicine treatment might be effective for lateral medullary infarction in patients who present with central dizziness and hypoesthesia.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

■ Objectives The purpose of this study is to report the effectiveness of Korean medicine in the treatment of non-cardiac chest pain. ■ Methods The patient with non-cardiac chest pain was treated with herbal medicine, Insambaekhaokwanjung-tang, and Jungsongouhyul pharmacoacupuncture. The severity of symptom was assessed by daily chest pain frequency, Numerical Rating Scale(NRS) of chest pain. ■ Results After the treatment, the severity of chest pain was reduced from NRS 9 to NRS 0 and the palpitation intensity was reduced from 9 to 0. The chest pain frequency was reduced from 7 to 0. In addition, other symptoms such as anorexia, sleep disturbance, and fatigue have shown improvements. ■ Conclusion The findings of this study suggests that treatment with Korean medicine can be an effective option in treating non cardiac chest pain.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.229-237
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of Sogunjung-tang on neuropathic pain. Methods: This study was conducted on 50 cases of patients with neuropathic pain who were treated in LUA clinic from Jun 2021, to Oct 2021. All patients were treated with Sogunjung-tang, and in some cases, acupuncture or moxibustion was also performed. We measured the efficacy of treatment with a numerical rating scale (NRS), frequency, and duration of pain before treatment, after 1 week, and 3 weeks. Results: Both average pain NRS and worst pain NRS significantly decreased 1 week and 3 weeks after treatment compared to pre-treatment. The frequency and duration of pain did not differ after 1 week of treatment but showed a significant difference after 3 weeks. Conclusions: This study suggests that herbal medicine treatment with Sogunjung-tang reduces pain intensity, frequency, and duration in patients with neuropathic pain.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.503-511
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• 2021

Objective: This study compared pain, muscle power (MP), muscle thickness (MT), and normalized position of the scapula (POS) between general physical therapy and general physical therapy with strengthening exercises of the lower trapezius in patients with rounded shoulder and chronic neck pain. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: The participants were 30 patients of W hospital in Gangnamgu, Seoul, with rounded shoulders who were diagnosed with chronic neck pain. Rounded shoulder was defined as a distance between the surface and acromion of >1 inch in the supine position. The participants were assigned to an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=15). The experimental group completed four types of strengthening exercises program for 15 minutes, twice weekly, for a total of 5 weeks. Soft tissue mobilization (STM), cervical extension flexion rotation (CEFR), and physical modality were also performed in both groups. Results: The degree of pain was assessed using the numerical rating scale (NRS), MP was measured a handheld dynamometer, MT was measured by ultrasound, and POS was measured using a tapeline. Significant between-group differences were observed in VAS, MP, MP, and POS. Significant changes were observed in the experimental group for VAS, MP, MT, and POS. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it was indicated that lower trapezius strengthening exercises performed together with general physical therapy was significantly improved in pain, MP, MT, and POS in patients with rounded shoulder and chronic neck pain compared to when general physical therapy was performed alone.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.115-123
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• 2021

This study reports the effects of Korean medicine treatments including Chuna manual therapy (CMT) and exercise treatment for a patient suffering with cervical spinal stenosis. We treated patient diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis. The patient was treated with CMT once a day for 26 days. Manual muscle testing (MMT), ratio and degree of numbness, numerical rating scale (NRS) were used as tools for evaluating the patient's progress. MMT was increased from 3+ to 5, ratio and degree of numbness were decreased from grade (Gr.) 9 to Gr. 4, NRS was decreased from 5 to 3. This study suggests that CMT and self-exercise can be considered as effective treatment for cervical spinal stenosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2019

Background: This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of low-dose ketamine versus ketorolac in pain control in patients with acute renal colic presenting to the emergency department (ED). Methods: This is a double-blind randomized clinical trial. The initial pain severity was assessed using the numerical rating scale (NRS). Then, ketamine or ketorolac was administered intravenously at a dose of 0.6 mg/kg and 30 mg respectively. The pain severity and adverse drug reactions were recorded 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min thereafter. Results: The data of 62 subjects in the ketamine group and 64 patients in the ketorolac group were analyzed. The mean age of the patients was $34.2{\pm}9.9$ and $37.9{\pm}10.6\;years$ in the ketamine and ketorolac group, respectively. There was no significant difference in the mean NRS scores at each time point, except for the 5 min, between the two groups. Despite a marked decrease in pain severity in the ketamine group from drug administration at the 5 min, a slight increase in pain was observed from the 5 min to the 15 min. The rate of adverse drug reactions, including dizziness (P = 0.001), agitation (P = 0.002), increased systolic blood pressure (> 140 mmHg), and diastolic blood pressure (> 90 mmHg) was higher in the ketamine group. Conclusions: Low dose ketamine is as effective as ketorolac in pain management in patients with renal colic presenting to the ED. However, it is associated with a higher rate of adverse drug reactions.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.534-540
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• 2019

This study aimed to report the improvement in a vascular oculomotor nerve palsy patient treated with Korean medicine. A 68-year-old man with vascular oculomotor nerve palsy was treated with acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, and an herbal medicine (Gangwhalyufung-tang). This case was measured and assessed by the numerical rating scale (NRS), EuroQol-5 Dimension Index (EQ-5D), score of diplopia, and ratio of MRD1. The NRS decreased, and the patient showed improvement in EQ-5D, score of diplopia, and ratio of MRD1. Korean medicine treatments are considered helpful in treating diplopia and ptosis due to vascular oculomotor nerve palsy.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.196-205
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• 2019

Background: Hypertonic saline (HS) injections for decompressive neuroplasty (DN) can cause pain. We assessed whether a continuous infusion of HS through an infusion pump would reduce injection-related pain compared with repeated bolus administrations. Methods: Fifty patients scheduled for DN were randomized to either the bolus injection or the continuous infusion group. After appropriately placing the epidural catheter, 4 mL of 5% NaCl was injected as four boluses of 1 mL each at 15-minute intervals or infused over 1 hour using an infusion pump. The severity of pain induced by HS injection, as measured by the 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS), was the primary outcome. The severity of low back or lower extremity pain, as measured by the 11-point NRS and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), 3 months following the procedure, was the secondary outcome. Results: Data from 21 patients in the bolus group and 23 in the continuous infusion group were analyzed. No statistically significant difference in injection-related pain was identified between the two groups during the initial HS administration (P = 0.846). However, there was a statistically significant reduction in injection-related pain in the continuous infusion group compared to the bolus injection group from the second assessment onwards (P = 0.001, < 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively). No significant between-group differences in the NRS and ODI scores 3 months post-procedure were noted (P = 0.614 and 0.949, respectively). Conclusions: Our study suggests that administering HS through a continuous infusion is a useful modality for reducing HS injection-related pain during DN.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.1296-1305
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• 2018

A patient with an epigastralgia was treated with Korean medicine for the short-term period of five days under admission care. In this case report, we discuss the efficacy and safety of short-term treatment using Korean medicine methods on a patient with an epigastralgia by evaluating a numerical rating scale, agastrointestinal symptom questionnaire, clinical features, and blood tests. The complex methods comprise purgation therapy using Crotonis Fructus, Korean herbal medication, acupuncture and moxibustion. Throughout the purgation therapy with Crotonis Fructus, the patient reported improvement in both her pain score and dyspepsia index. This case showed that Korean medicine acted not only fast, but also effective for treating epigastralgia patients diagnosed with functional dyspepsia.