• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.129-139
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• 2009

Sagittal spinal balance means standing postural balance at sagittal plane. Postural imbalance with displacement of the patient's center of gravity can cause chronic back pain and ambulatory difficulty. The sagittal spinal balance is determined based on the deviation of the C7 plumb line, originating at the middle of the C7 vertebral body, from the posterior superior endplate of S1. The line is called as sagittal vertical axis (SVA). In the traditional Korean medicine, the meridian sinews, which are the most superficial pathways of the meridian system, associated with movement, muscle balance and defense. They too are separate from the main meridians, though they intersect the main meridians. Some creative and pioneer researchers in Korea thought that the anatomy trains, which suggested by Myers is a concept familiar to the meridian sinews. A reciprocal relationship between the superficial back line and the superficial front line used to be compared to the rigging of a sailboat. Therefore, We suggest that spine may be compared to a mast of the sailboat and that the sagittal spinal balance can be maintained with systemic reciprocal interacts between the front line muscles and the back.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.385-395
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• 2012

Objectives : Meridian sinew theory was introduced in Miraculous Pivot, Huangdi's Internal Classic, to explain in relation with locations of meridian sinews, causes, mechanisms, and treatment of diseases. The meridian sinews are understood to include muscles, tendons and ligaments, or muscles in the superficial body made up with muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia etc. This theory shows the similarity or organic relationship between the meridian sinews and muscles. From the Hippocrates(460-385 BC) ages, traction therapy was used as a treatment method on muscular diseases such as low back pain, scoliosis, etc in western medicine. The effects of traction therapy, however, were unclear so that this study was purposed to illustrate the effectiveness of continuous traction therapy and to develop meridian sinews treatment. Methods : We made 2 hypotheses to explain the cause of scoliosis occurrence, muscles contraction and relaxation. As the hypothesis, we made the spinal model having 3 joints with wood and rubber bands. Each of the three joints in the spinal model represents the case of normal(NT; control), contraction(AT 1)and relaxation(AT 2) condition, and distance between the vertebrae joints was measured. Results : Under normal circumstance models, the normal type 1(NT 1; muscle relax state) and normal type 2(NT 2; muscle contract state) all joints were being towed equally. But in an unusual contracted situation, regardless of the relationship of joint area, contracted part of joint was not released. And in a relaxed situation, regardless of joint areas, released parts of joint were further released. These observation results mean that the effects of traction might be different from the purpose of traction therapy of Hippocrates. Conclusions : To explain the effect of traction therapy for scoliosis, the spinal cord model and scoliosis model were made. After vertebral bodies were pulled with different tensile forces, we compared the observed length of the each joints pulled. The results suggested that there were no effects of traction in objected parts with traction method from Hippocrates' design, continuous traction method. Moreover, it may worsen the symptom in worst case. Of course, our results are just the result of experimental models and clinical results may be different. More careful studies, therefore, are required.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.630-640
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• 2012

Recently, the range of meridian muscle has expanded to muscular membranes, tendons and sinews as well as muscles, comprehending the modern manual therapy and its theories. So, in this study, the movement of body is explained through the assignment of meridian muscles into 3 Yins and 3 Yangs, and the modern manual therapy is understood with body's movement principles rather than with simple muscular movements. For this, the ground that the meridian muscles can expand to muscular membranes, tendons and sinews is researched in newest papers and studies rather than in the conventional studies that have analyzed the meridian muscles just in anatomic viewpoints. And, to find out how it can be applied to the actual clinic, its relationship with modern manual therapies such as Positional Release Therapy and Muscle Energy Techniques which are in the spotlight lately is also researched, getting the following results: Modern manual therapy is to keep the mutual balance of Yin-Yang meridian muscles after all and secure the stability of body to relieve the pains due to the stagnation of energy and blood. In the main body, they can be allotted into the opening of Great Yang/Great Yin, the closing of Bright Yang(陽明)/Small Yin, and the pivoting of Small Yang/Growing Yin (厥陰). The bending and stretching of meridian muscles as well as the movement of body can be explained according to the principle of opening, closing and pivoting. When the body is divided into 3 Yins and 3 Yangs, the viewpoint of Yin-Yang-Inside-Outside can be applied to the protagonist and antagonist muscles, giving a theoretic basis to the modern manual therapy. In the process to understand Positional Release Therapy and Muscle Energy Techniques in the viewpoint of Meridian Muscle, it turned out that the meridian muscle theory of Oriental Medicine which used to be known only in documents can well explain the movement mechanism of human body. The stress reaction through the reciprocal inhibition in Positional Release Therapy and Muscle Energy Techniques can also be understood with Yin-Yang-Inside-Outside.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.79-89
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate various application methods of focused ultrasound and apply them to clinical use in Korean medicine. Methods : Search was performed using the search engines of electronic databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ScienceON, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, Japan Science Technology Information Aggregator, Electronic (J-STAGE) and Citation Information by NII (CiNii), from inception to July 2023 without language limitation. Inclusion criteria were clinical studies including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and animal experimental studies related with focused ultrasound treatments for acupoints or meridian sinews. Results : Total 17 papers, 7 for RCT, 6 for in vivo animal studies, and other experimental studies, were finally selected. Indications used in studies were shoulder pain, back pain, chronic back pain, and degenerative knee arthritis. In experimental studies, studies on animal models of hypoxic ischemic brain damage and hyperlipidemia were also conducted. As for the acupoints, LR3, LI4, and ST36 were used in clinical studies and, in animal experimental studies, GV20, KI1, and ST36 were used. As for the dose, 4 studies below 3 W/cm² and 3 studies in the range of 0.625 to 5 W/cm² in clinical studies, and all studies did not exceed 5 W/cm². In animal experimental studies, 0.5 W/cm², 2 W/cm², 7.5 WW/cm², 15 W/cm², 10~20 W/cm² were used. In all three studies describing the penetration depth during irradiation, it was less than 1 cm. Conclusions : We suggest that focused ultrasound is an appropriate treatment tool for stimulating the acupoints to transfer heat energy. Future studies with rigorous and well-designed RCTs for various diseases will be required to ascertain the focused ultrasound stimulate acupoints or meridian sinews.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.59-65
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• 2009

Objectives : This survey was done in order to find out how Korean medical doctors derive pattern identification for acupuncture prescriptions in treating knee pain in real clinical practice. Methods : The survey questionnaire was developed by the committee of experts who major in acupuncture & moxibustion or statistics for acupuncture clinical trial protocol development. The questionnaires were distributed via e-mail to 75 members of Korean Acupuncture & moxibustion society from March 26th to April 14th in 2009. 57 members completed answers, and the computerized data were analyzed by SPSS 17.0 statistical program. Results : 1.54 Korean medical doctors selected meridian pattern identification based on the course of the meridians(52.5%), visceral pattern identification(27.1%), pattern identification based on cause of disease(8.5%) as the most commonly used pattern identification methods for acupuncture prescription when treating knee pain patients in real clinical practice. 2. In meridian pattern identification based on the course of the meridians, liver meridian of the medial knee region(13.2%), bladder meridian of the posterior knee region(12.0%), spleen meridian of the lateral knee region(11.7%), stomach meridian of the anterior knee region(9.8%) and kidney meridian of the medial knee region(8.6%) were selected. 3. In visceral pattern identification, blood stasis of sinews due to liver and kidney deficiency(5.3%), damp joint with yang deficiency of liver and kidney(4.9%), kidney qi deficiency with congealing cold(4.5%), yin deficiency of liver and kidney(4.1%) were selected. Conclusions : In our e-mail survey, Korean medical doctors answered that Meridian Pattern Identification based on the course of the meridians is the most often used diagnosis method. Visceral pattern identification, pattern identification based on cause of disease, pattern identification based on symptom and pattern identification based on qi-blood-yin-yang theory in order of frequency used, were selected for knee pain diagnosis in real clinical practice.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.141-148
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate on the application of the yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) lasers for acupoints irradiation. Methods : We conducted a systematic search for peer-reviewed studies published from inception to November 2023, in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science in English, Science ON, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS) and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS) in Korean, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang in Chinese, and Japan Science Technology Information Aggregator, Electronic (J-STAGE) and Citation Information by NII (CiNii) in Japanese. Inclusion criteria were original articles including clinical and experimental studies related with YAG lasers for acupoints including Ashi or meridian sinews. Results : Among the 8 selected studies, there were 7 studies on human subjects and 1 study on animals, 7 studies on Nd:YAG (1,064 nm) laser, and 1 study on Er:YAG (2,940 nm) laser. A total of 16 acupoints were used, 15 of which were in the face and 1 of which was located in the foot. In addition, there were two studies using Ashi. 4 studies looked at the effect of pain relief, 2 studies looked at safety, 1 study looked at changes in blood flow, and 1 study looked at the effect of skin care. There were no reported adverse events, and the YAG laser was confirmed to be safe and effective in pain relief, beautifying the skin, and increasing blood flow. Conclusions : We suggest that high intensity YAG lasers can be applied to laser acupuncture or laser moxibustion. YAG lasers are considered to be worth using for various clinical indications of Korean medicine because of photobiomodulation effects, analgesic action, and deep penetration depth. Further scientific research and clinical evidences should be warranted.