• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.254-258
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• 2020

Background: Scapulohumeral periarthritis causes pain and stiffness, and limits movement but it is a treatable condition. This was a clinical study of acupotomy treatment for scapulohumeral periarthritis. Methods: There were 80 patients randomly assigned to the traditional Chinese Medicine group (acupotomy) and the Western medicine group (naproxen), with 40 cases in each group. All patients had adjunct physiotherapy exercises for 14 days. Patients received acupotomy treatment 3 times for 14 days (Day 0, 7 and 14) or naproxen (0.22 g capsule; a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) 3 times a day, for 14 days. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, range of motion (ROM) values, and the Melle scale, together with the therapeutic standard of diseases and syndromes in traditional Chinese Medicine were used for diagnosis and evaluation. Results: There were significant differences in the VAS scores, ROM, Melle scores, cure rate and total effective rate in the group which took naproxen and the acupotomy group, before and after treatment (p < 0.01). There were significant differences in the changes in VAS, ROM and Melle scores between the 2 groups (p < 0.01), and the acupotomy group was better than the naproxen group. Conclusion: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western medicine can improve functional activity and reduce the level of pain experienced by patients suffering from scapulohumeral periarthritis. However, improvement of functional activity of the shoulder joint following acupotomy treatment was more obvious than the use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and the cure rate, and total effective rate of acupotomy was better.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2004

Objective : To broaden our understanding on occupational disease of market workers and to evaluate the effect of TKM treatment focusing on acupuncture and herb medicine and to promote base studies and clinical trials on occupational disease. Materials and Methods : Analysis was done on 33 Ga-Rak market workers' chart which had been selected through investigation of 1508 outpatient's chart of Kyung Won University Hospital from Jun. 1st, 2002 to May. 31th, 2003. Results : 1. Out of 33 patients, Men had more occupational diseases than women had and Most people were in their forties. 2. Major cause of the disease include repetitve bending, heavy weight lifting and overwork. 3. Past History of patients mostly include frequent lumbar sprain, periarthritis of shoulder, lumbar HNP 4. The patients with occupational disease were diagnosed as lumbar sprain, periarthritis of shoulder, lumbar HNP, degenerative spondylosis, spinal stenosis and their chief complaints were low back pain, omalgia, back pain with radicular pain. 5. The duration of treatment was mostly within a week. 6. Acupuncture, Bee Venom Acupuncture, moxibustion, Herb-medicine, extract, taping therapy, physical therapy were used as treatment methods. 7. Applied herb medicine were composed of 8 kinds of prescriptions and extract were made up of 6 prescriptions 8. Applied acupoints belonged mainly to 14 meridians 9. The treatment of herb medicine combined with acupuncture proved effective in treating the ocupational disease. Conclusion : The occupational disease of patients working in Ga-Rak market were closely related with overwork, especially with repetitive bending and heavy weight lifting and TKM treatment focusing on acupuncture combined with herb medicine was effective in treating occupational disease.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2019

Background: We aimed to explore the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990 and 2011 fibromyalgia (FM) classification criteria's items and the components of Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) to identify features best discriminating FM features. Finally, we developed a combined FM diagnostic (C-FM) model using the FM's key features. Methods: The means and frequency on tender points (TPs), ACR 2011 components and FIQ items were calculated in the FM and non-FM (osteoarthritis [OA] and non-OA) patients. Then, two-step multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to order these variables according to their maximal statistical contribution in predicting group membership. Partial correlations assessed their unique contribution, and two-group discriminant analysis provided a classification table. Using receiver operator characteristic analyses, we determined the sensitivity and specificity of the final model. Results: A total of 172 patients with FM, 75 with OA and 21 with periarthritis or regional pain syndromes were enrolled. Two steps multiple logistic regression analysis identified 8 key features of FM which accounted for 64.8% of variance associated with FM group membership: lateral epicondyle TP with variance percentages (36.9%), neck pain (14.5%), fatigue (4.7%), insomnia (3%), upper back pain (2.2%), shoulder pain (1.5%), gluteal TP (1.2%), and FIQ fatigue (0.9%). The C-FM model demonstrated a 91.4% correct classification rate, 91.9% for sensitivity and 91.7% for specificity. Conclusions: The C-FM model can accurately detect FM patients among other pain disorders. Re-inclusion of TPs along with saving of FM main symptoms in the C-FM model is a unique feature of this model.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.87-99
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• 2013

Objectives : The objective of this study is to find out the method and effects of fire needling on frozen shoulder in China. Methods : We searched journals using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) and PubMed. The keywords were a combination of "fire needling", "fire needle", "burning acupuncture", "frozen shoulder", "adhesive capsulitis", "periarthritis". Results : There were 23 studies finally selected, 7 were case control studies and 16 were case series studies. There were 9 out of 14 main meridians and 31 kinds of acupoints. The most frequently adopted meridians were LI, SI and TE. The most frequently used acupoints were $LI_{15}$, $SI_9$ and $TE_{14}$. Adjacent points were used more often than distant points. They usually heated the needle before insertion and needle retention was mostly not done. 7 case control studies showed that fire needling reported better results than the filiform needle or electro-acupuncture treatment. 15 case series studies reported a significant improvement in fire needling on frozen shoulder patients. Conclusions : There have been many studies regarding fire needling on frozen shoulder in China. Further studies should be required and these can be applied to clinical practices in Korea.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.169-175
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to review clinical trials of pharmacopuncture treatment for Frozen Shoulder and to evaluate trends in this field. The literature search was performed using PubMed, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and 5 Korean electronic databases. A combination of "pharmacopuncture," "acupoint injection," "Frozen Shoulder," "adhesive capsulitis," and "periarthritis of shoulder" search terms were used. A total of 9 studies were included in this review. The studies were classified into herbal extract-based (5 types) and animal-based (2 types) pharmacopuncture treatment of Frozen Shoulder. There were 14 different acupoints and Ashi points used in the 9 studies. The total volume of herbal extract-based pharmacopuncture injected was usually between 2 mL and 4 mL, and for animal-based pharmacopuncture it was 1 ml. In most studies of Frozen Shoulder, pain was reduced and function was significantly improved after pharmacopuncture treatment. These results demonstrate that pharmacopuncture alleviates pain and restores function in patients with Frozen Shoulder. Further studies must be conducted on pharmacopuncture for management of Frozen Shoulder.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1729-1739
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of fermented medicinal herbs. A search of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), PubMed databases and Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine in 2000-2011 located 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the clinical efficacy of fermented medicinal herbs. Domestic RCTs reported clinical efficacy on improvement of immune responses and clinical safety on usage of fermented medicinal herbs in subjects suffering from cerebral hemodynamics. Countries other than Chinareported studies on the cause of esophageal cancer and on local inflammatory reactions. In China, studies were reported on the effectiveness of fermented medicinal herbs on scapulohumeral periarthritis of the stasis type, chronic superficial gastritis, dysuria induced by benign prostatic hyperplasia of deficiency of kidney yang, diabetic nephropathy, essential hypertension, and benign prostate hyperplasia. These results indicate that fermented medicinal herbs have obvious clinical effects in some diseases and no adverse reactions. Therefore, we need to initiate more fermentation research with useful bacteria, fungi, and mushrooms to produce fermented medicinal herbs. Both governments and research authorities should focus on research involving fermentation of medicinal herbs.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2024

Objectives: Frozen shoulder (FS) is one of the most challenging shoulder disorders for patients and clinicians. Its symptoms mainly include any combination of stiffness, nocturnal pain, and limitation of active and passive glenohumeral joint movement. Conventional treatment options for FS are physical therapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, injection therapy, and arthroscopic capsular release, but adverse and limited effects continue to present problems. As a result, pharmacoacupuncture (PA) is getting attention as an alternative therapy for patients with FS. PA is a new form of acupuncture treatment in traditional Korean medicine (TKM) that is mainly used for musculoskeletal diseases. It has similarity and specificity compared to corticosteroid injection and hydrodilatation, making it a potential alternative injection therapy for FS. However, no systematic reviews investigating the utilization of PA for FS have been published. Therefore, this review aims to standardize the clinical use of PA for FS and validate its therapeutic effect. Methods: The protocol was registered in Prospero (CRD42023445708) on 18 July 2023. Until Aug. 31, 2023, seven electronic databases will be searched for randomized controlled trials of PA for FS. Authors will be contacted, and manual searches will also be performed. Two reviewers will independently screen and collect data from retrieved articles according to predefined criteria. The primary outcome will be pain intensity, and secondary outcomes will be effective rate, Constant-Murley Score, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, range of motion, quality of life, and adverse events. Bias and quality of the included trials will be assessed using the Cochrane handbook's risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. Meta analyses will be conducted using Review Manager V.5.3 software. GRADE will be used to evaluate the level of evidence for each outcome. Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted following PRISMA statement. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Conclusion: This review will provide scientific evidence to support health insurance policy as well as the standardization of PA in clinical practice.