• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.482-487
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• 2014

Objective : We assessed the life-time prevalence (LTP) of chronic low back pain (LBP) in young Korean males. We also evaluated the relationship between lumbar spinal lesions and their health related quality-of-life (HRQOL). Methods : A cross-sectional, self-reported survey was conducted in Korean males (aged 19-year-old) who underwent physical examinations for the conscript. We examined 3331 examinees in November 2014. We included 2411 subjects, who accepted to participate this study without any comorbidities. We interviewed using simple binary questions for their LBP experience and chronicity. HRQOL was assessed by Short-Form Health-Survey-36 (SF-36) in chronic LBP and healthy control groups. Radiological assessment was performed in chronic LBP group to determine whether there were any pathological causes of their symptoms. Results : The LTP of chronic LBP was 13.4%. Most (71.7%) of them didn't have any lumbar spinal lesions (i.e., non-specific chronic LBP). The SF-36 subscale and summary scores were significantly lower in subjects with chronic LBP. Between specific and non-specific chronic LBP group, all physical and mental subscale scores were significantly lower in specific chronic LBP group, except mental health (MH) subscale score. In MH subscale and mental component summary score, statistical significant differences didn't appear between two groups (p=0.154, 0.126). Conclusion : In Korean males 19 years of age, the LTP of chronic LBP was 13.4%, and more than two-thirds were non-specific chronic LBP. Chronic LBP had a significant impact on HRQOL. The presence of lumbar spinal pathoanatomical lesions affected mainly on the physical aspect of HRQOL. It influenced little on the mental health.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.129-136
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate whether an intra-articular injection of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor agonist, resiniferatoxin (RTX) would alleviate behavioral signs of arthritic pain in a rat model of osteoarthritis (OA). We also sought to determine the effect of RTX treatment on calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) expression in the spinal cord. Knee joint inflammation was induced by intra-articular injection of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA, $8mg/50{\mu}l$) and weight bearing percentage on right and left hindpaws during walking, paw withdrawal threshold to mechanical stimulation, and paw withdrawal latency to heat were measured to evaluate pain behavior. Intra-articular administration of RTX (0.03, 0.003 and 0.0003%) at 2 weeks after the induction of knee joint inflammation significantly improved reduction of weight bearing on the ipsilateral hindlimb and increased paw withdrawal sensitivity to mechanical and heat stimuli. The reduction of pain behavior persisted for 3~10 days according to each behavioral test. The MIA-induced increase in CGRP immunoreactivity in the spinal cord was decreased by RTX treatment in a dose-dependent manner. The present study demonstrated that a single intra-articular administration of RTX reduced pain behaviors for a relatively long time in an experimental model of OA and could normalize OA-associated changes in peptide expression in the spinal cord.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.245-251
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• 2008

Single-channel recordings of TASK-1 and TASK-3, members of two-pore domain $K^+$ channel family, have not yet been reported in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, even though their mRNA and activity in whole-cell currents have been detected in these neurons. Here, we report single-channel kinetics of the TASK-3-like $K^+$ channel in DRG neurons and up-regulation of TASK-3 mRNA expression in tissues isolated from animals with spinal cord injury (SCI). In DRG neurons, the single-channel conductance of TASK-3-like $K^+$ channel was $33.0{\pm}0.1$ pS at - 60 mV, and TASK-3 activity fell by $65{\pm}5%$ when the extracellular pH was changed from 7.3 to 6.3, indicating that the DRG $K^+$ channel is similar to cloned TASK-3 channel. TASK-3 mRNA and protein levels in brain, spinal cord, and DRG were significantly higher in injured animals than in sham-operated ones. These results indicate that TASK-3 channels are expressed and functional in DRG neurons and the expression level is up-regulated following SCI, and suggest that TASK-3 channel could act as a potential background $K^+$ channel under SCI-induced acidic condition.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.157-161
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• 2010

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are specifically induced by various forms of stress. Hsp70.1, a member of the hsp70 family is known to play an important role in cytoprotection from stressful insults. However, the functional role of Hsp70 in motor function after spinal cord injury (SCI) is still unclear. To study the role of hsp70.1 in motor recovery following SCI, we assessed locomotor function in hsp70.1 knockout (KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) mice via the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale, before and after spinal hemisection at T13 level. We also examined lesion size in the spinal cord using Luxol fast blue/cresyl violet staining. One day after injury, KO and WT mice showed no significant difference in the motor function due to complete paralysis following spinal hemisection. However, when it compared to WT mice, KO mice had significantly delayed and decreased functional outcomes from 4 days up to 21 days after SCI. KO mice also showed significantly greater lesion size in the spinal cord than WT mice showed at 21 days after spinal hemisection. These results suggest that Hsp70 has a protective effect against traumatic SCI and the manipulation of the hsp70.1 gene may help improve the recovery of motor function, thereby enhancing neuroprotection after SCI.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.227-233
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• 2018

Objectives: Chronic diseases, including back pain, result in significant patient morbidity and societal burden. Overall improvement in physical fitness is recommended for prevention and treatment. Walking is a convenient modality for achieving initial gains. Our objective was to determine whether neighbourhood walkability, acting as a surrogate measure of physical fitness, was associated with the presence of chronic disease. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of prospectively collected data from a prior randomized cohort study of 227 patients referred for tertiary assessment of chronic back pain in Ottawa, ON, Canada. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was calculated from patient-completed questionnaires and medical record review. Using patients' postal codes, neighbourhood walkability was determined using the Walk Score, which awards points based on the distance to the closest amenities, yielding a score from 0 to 100 (0-50: car-dependent; 50-100: walkable). Results: Based on the Walk Score, 134 patients lived in car-dependent neighborhoods and 93 lived in walkable neighborhoods. A multivariate logistic regression model, adjusted for age, gender, rural postal code, body mass index, smoking, median household income, percent employment, pain, and disability, demonstrated an adjusted odds ratio of 2.75 (95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 6.53) times higher prevalence for having a chronic disease for patients living in a car-dependent neighborhood. There was also a significant dose-related association (p=0.01; Mantel-Haenszel chi-square=6.4) between living in car-dependent neighbourhoods and more severe CCI scores. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that advocating for improved neighbourhood planning to permit greater walkability may help offset the burden of chronic disease.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study were to analysis the effect on change of spinal neuron excitability during gait training of hemiplegia patients by the functional electrical stimulation. Methods: Thirty six hemiplegia patients participated in this study. Stimulation conditions of FES were pulse rate 35pps, pulse width $250{\mu}s$, and on-time 0.3 second, treatment hour was 30 min. and treatment period was once a day for five days a week through six weeks. For functional evaluations before and after treatment, Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), active range of motion (AROM), Hmax threshold, H/Mmax ratio were measured and the following conclusions were obtained. Results: Functional evaluation showed significant changes in experimental group as MAS(p<0.01), AROM(p<0.001), compared to control group. In spinal neuron excitability evaluation, change of Hmax threshold was significantly reduced in both non weight bearing (p<0.001) and bearing condition (p<0.05), H/Mmax ratio was significantly reduced in non weight bearing (p<0.05) and bearing condition (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, application of FES to hemiplegia patients in recovery stage during gait training improved mitigation of muscular spasticity, balance adjustment and moving ability and it was interpreted that it was caused by mitigation of muscular spasticity by the spinal neuron excitability.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.31-38
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• 2013

Objectives : The present study examines the domestic trend of Chuna treatments on lumbar spinal disorder in Korea. Methods : We investigated the studies on Chuna treatments for lumbar spinal disorder via searching 10 Korean web databases. As a result, 63 research papers were found to be analyzed according to their published year, the titles of journals, the types of study, the techniques of Chuna, the instruments for assessment, the Chuna technique and the number of the treatment trials by the cases of lumbar spinal disorder and ethical approvals. Results : The number of the research papers published tends to increase every year. The studies on Chuna treatments were mainly published in The Journal of Korea CHUNA Manual Medicine for Spine & Nerves. The most frequently adopted technique of Chuna in the examined studies was Cox flexion & distraction technique. Visual analogue scale(VAS), oswestry disability questionnaire(ODI) were used as primary means of assessments. The ethical problems of the examined studies needed to be improved. Conclusion : Reviewing the domestic trend of studies on Chuna treatments for lumbar spinal disorder and examining the strong and weak points of those treatments are essential for the future studies. It is anticipated that this review benefits the future in-depth study on the treatments for Chuna in Korean medicine.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2007

Objective : To purpose of this study was the most of the ladies wear high-heeled shoes at lease 4 to 5 day a week but the effect of it's height on the lumbo-sacral legion angle has not been clearly defined. Method : Subject were 20 young ladies, who had majored in physical therapy of the Dae-gu Health College. Method 1. PACS system X-ray was used to measure the lumbo-sacral legion angle under the condition of bare foot, 3cm, 7cm high-heeled at standing position. 2. Spinal Mouse was used to measure the spinal segment motion angle and length under the condition of bare foot, 3cm, 7cm high-heeled at being Flexion-Extension position Result : The result of this study were as follow I. Significant statistical increase in lumbar lordosis was observed as the heel height was increased from bare foot to 7cm high-heeled(p<.05), but there was no significant difference in the lumbo-sacral angle & sacral angle(p>.05). 2. The Height and the weight of the subjects, their preference on the shoes didn't affect the lumbo-sacral lesion angle(p>.05) 3. The variation of the heel height didn't affect the spinal segment motion angle and length(p>.05). Conclusion : There is strong relationship between the high of heel with increasing the lumbar lordosis(p<.05).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.309-318
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• 2012

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare 2 different interventions, global postural re-education (GPR) and specific spinal stabilization exercise in the healthy elderly of women. Methods : A total of 28 subjects were randomized into 2 treatment groups: GPR, where therapy involved muscle global chain stretching, or specific spinal stabilization exercise with conventional static stretching (GPR group: n=14, specific spinal stabilization exercise group: n=14). Both groups received exercise intervention 3 times a week for 12-weeks. Results : Outcome was based on trunk endurance, trunk flexibility, Pressure Bio Feedback, Oswestry Disability Index measured immediately before and after intervention. Trunk flexibility, Pressure Bio Feedback, Oswestry Disability Index improved more in GPR group after intervention. There were no differences between the 2 exercise approaches for any of the trunk endurance. Conclusion : As the above results, GPR appear to improve Trunk flexibility, Pressure Bio Feedback, Oswestry Disability Index to the elderly of women. The efficacy of the GPR program used in this study should be further investigated in a long period study and objective outcomes.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.409-417
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• 2020

Background: It is well known that the distribution of therapeutic materials is very complex. However, it is not easy to demonstrate the concrete problems caused by distribution channels empirically. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the price of therapeutic materials according to the type of purchasing agency and the way in which medical institutions purchase therapeutic materials. Methods: This study compared the claimed prices and the maximum allowable prices for the items of therapeutic material used for general spinal surgery. Results: Ilsan Hospital, which purchased directly without a purchasing agent, had the lowest claimed prices, followed by a large professional purchasing agency, a foundation-related purchasing agency, and a general purchasing agency. In addition, the difference between the claimed prices and the maximum allowable prices according to the purchase type was larger in the expensive treatment materials, and in the case of the lower price treatment materials, it tended to converge to the maximum allowable prices. Conclusion: National health insurance spending for therapeutic materials are to be affected by the distribution channels of them. We proposed several ideas to rationalize the expenditure such as classification of therapeutic materials on the basis of price or other criteria.