• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.12-17
• /
• 2016

Background: The study aimed to determine if ultrasonography of masseter can be used to evaluate the outcome of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in subjects with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) such as myositis and myofascial pain. Methods: Fifteen TMD subjects with myofascial pain/myositis who satisfied the RDC/McNeil criteria were included in the study. All the subjects were administered TENS therapy for a period of 6 days (30 minutes per session). The mouth opening (in millimeters) and severity of pain (visual analogue scale score) and ultrasonographic thickness of the masseter (in millimeters) in the region of trigger/tender areas was assessed in all the subjects both prior and post TENS therapy. A comparison of the pre-treatment and post-treatment values of the VAS score, mouth opening and masseter thickness was done with the help of a t-test. Results: There was a significant reduction in the thickness of masseter muscle (P = 0.028) and VAS scores (P < 0.001) post TENS therapy. There was also a significant improvement in the mouth opening (P = 0.011) post TENS therapy. Conclusions: In the present study, ultrasonography was found to be an effective measuring tool in the assessment of TENS therapy in subjects with myositis and myofascial pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.198-202
• /
• 2015

Background: Lack of proper control of acute postoperative pain often leads to lingering or chronic pain. Several studies have emphasized the role of beta-blockers in reducing postoperative pain. Esmolol is a selective short-acting beta-blocker that produces few side effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of intravenous intraoperative esmolol on postoperative pain reduction following orthopedic leg fracture surgery. Methods: In a clinical trial, 82 patients between 20-65 years of age with tibia fractures and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I & II who underwent surgery were divided into two groups. Group A received esmolol and group B received normal saline. Postoperative pain was measured at three time points: entering the recovery unit, and at 3 h and 6 h following surgery, using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). A P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Mean VAS scores at all three time points were significantly different between the two test groups (P = 0.02, P = 0.0001, and P = 0.0001, respectively). The consumption of pethidine was lower in group A than in group B (P = 0.004) and the duration of its effect was significantly longer in time (P = 0.026). Conclusions: Intravenous intraoperative esmolol is effective in the reduction of postoperative pain following leg fracture surgery. It reduced opioid consumption following surgery and delayed patient requests for analgesics.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.61-66
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the effect of changes in pain on the autonomic nervous system and brain waves after inducing delayed-onset muscle soreness(DOMS). Based on voluntary participation, 28 participants with induced-DOMS were randomly divided into control(non-treatment, n=14) and experiment groups(transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and kinesio taping, n=14). Intervention was performed from first day to fifth days after the onset of DOMS. Measurements were performed using the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS), Heart Rate Variability(HRV), and brain wave before DOMS induction, 24 hours after, fifth day after, and eighth day after. According to the study results, when DOMS occurred, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system was increased or the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system was suppressed, and reduction of pain due to interventions showed the opposite activity. A decreased in alpha was seen during pain, but was not significant. These results will help develop and study pain management and treatment strategies.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 2022

Background: Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) has been widely used in the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases. Epidural injection of steroids can reduce the incidence and duration of postoperative pain in a short period of time. Although steroids are widely believed to reduce the effect of surgical trauma, the observation indicators are not uniform, especially the long-term effects, so the problem remains controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of epidural steroids following PTED. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Database from 1980 to June 2021 to identify randomized and non-randomized controlled trials comparing epidural steroids and saline alone following PTED. The primary outcomes included postoperative pain at least 6 months as assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay and the time of return to work. Results: A total of 451 patients were included in three randomized and two non-randomized controlled trials. The primary outcomes, including VAS and ODI scores, did not differ significantly between epidural steroids following PTED and saline alone. There were no significant intergroup differences in length of hospital stay. Epidural steroids were shown to be superior in terms of the time to return to work (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Intraoperative epidural steroids did not provide significant benefits, leg pain control, improvement in ODI scores, and length of stay in the hospital, but it can enable the patient to return to work faster.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.215-221
• /
• 2020

Objective: Tension-type headaches usually occur with temporomandibular disorder, which increases the risk of the chronic tension-type headaches. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of additional temporalmandibular therapy compared to cerivcal joint therapy for tension-type headaches with pericranial tenderness. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Forty-one patients with chronic tension-type headaches and pericranial tenderness were randomized into the 3 groups, such as the temporomandibular joint therapy group (TMJT group, n=14), cervical manual therapy group (CMT group, n=14) and conservative therapy group (CT group, n=13). All patients were assessed at baseline and after each intervention during the three sessions. The participants in the TMJT group received the temporomadibular joint treatment and cervical manual therapy for 30 minutes, once a week, for 3 weeks. The participants in the CMT group received the cervical manual therapy, and those in the CT group received modalities during same time period. The outcome measurements used were the intensity of headaches measured on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), quality of life measured with the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), and function of the cervical spine using the Neck Diability Index (NDI). Results: The TMJT group that received temporomandibular joint treatment and cervical manual therapy showed a significant decrease in VAS, HIT-6, and NDI compared with the other 2 groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study suggected that temporomandibular joint treatment combined with cervical manual therapy was more effective for the chronic tension-type headaches with pericranial tenderness than the usual cervical therapy alone.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.69-80
• /
• 2006

Objectives : The occurrence of shoulder pain after attack of stroke varies from 15% to about 80% in patients. Hemiplegic shoulder pain has been shown to affect stroke outcome in a negative way that it interferes with recovery after a stroke. These following processes have been all postulated as causes of a shoulder pain: glenohumeral subluxation, spasticity, impingement, soft tissue trauma, glenohumeral capsulitis, shoulder hand syndrome. And stroke patients may suffer from pain caused by stroke itself(central post-stroke pain). The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Bee venom therapy for shoulder pain in stroke patients. Methods : To evaluate the effectiveness of Bee Venom Acupuncture Therapy, 40 patients were allocated into control and treatment group. They were monitored for 3 weeks and followed up with VAS score(with the interval of Initial(YAS1)), 1 week later(VAS2), 2 weeks later(VAS3), 3 weeks later(VAS4), Motor Grade and Passive ROM. Results : VAS score decrease in treatment group compared to control group. Bee Venom Acupuncture Therapy seems to decrease hemiplegic shoulder pain and this effect was statistically significant after 3 weeks. Therefore this therapy could be recommended for the treatment of patients with shoulder pain after stroke and further extensive clinical studies are expected. Conclusion : We suggest that GDS oral administration and electro-acupuncture at $BL_{52}$ & $GB_{39}$ are available for prevention and curing about the postmenopausal osteoporosis.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.58 no.1
• /
• pp.65-71
• /
• 2015

Objective : Lumbar spinal stenosis is conventionally treated with surgical decompression. However, bilateral decompression and laminectomy is more invasive and may not be necessary for lumbar stenosis patients with unilateral radiculopathy. We aimed to report the outcomes of unilateral laminectomy and bilateral pedicle screw fixation with fusion for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and unilateral radiculopathy. Methods : Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with unilateral lower extremity radiculopathy who received limited unilateral decompression and bilateral pedicle screw fixation were included and evaluated using visual analog scale (VAS) pain and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores preoperatively and at follow-up visits. Ligamentum flavum thickness of the involved segments was measured on axial magnetic resonance images. Results : Twenty-five patients were included. The mean preoperative VAS score was $6.6{\pm}1.6$ and $4.6{\pm}3.1$ for leg and back pain, respectively. Ligamentum flavum thickness was comparable between the symptomatic and asymptomatic side (p=0.554). The mean follow-up duration was 29.2 months. The pain in the symptomatic side lower extremity (VAS score, $1.32{\pm}1.2$) and the back (VAS score, $1.75{\pm}1.73$) significantly improved (p=0.000 vs. baseline for both). The ODI improved significantly postoperatively ($6.60{\pm}6.5$; p=0.000 vs. baseline). Significant improvement in VAS pain and ODI scores were observed in patients receiving single or multi-segment decompression fusion with fixation (p<0.01). Conclusion : Limited laminectomy and unilateral spinal decompression followed by bilateral pedicle screw fixation with fusion achieves satisfactory outcomes in patients with spinal stenosis and unilateral radiculopathy. This procedure is less damaging to structures that are important for maintaining posterior stability of the spine.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.160-171
• /
• 2016

Background The objective of this study was to assess the attractive facial features of the Indian population. We tried to evaluate subjective ratings of facial attractiveness and identify which facial aesthetic subunits were important for facial attractiveness. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted of 150 samples (referred to as candidates). Frontal photographs were analyzed. An orthodontist, a prosthodontist, an oral surgeon, a dentist, an artist, a photographer and two laymen (estimators) subjectively evaluated candidates' faces using visual analog scale (VAS) scores. As an objective method for facial analysis, we used balanced angular proportional analysis (BAPA). Using SAS 10.1 (SAS Institute Inc.), the Turkey's studentized range test and Pearson correlation analysis were performed to detect between-group differences in VAS scores (Experiment 1), to identify correlations between VAS scores and BAPA scores (Experiment 2), and to analyze the characteristic features of facial attractiveness and gender differences (Experiment 3); the significance level was set at P=0.05. Results Experiment 1 revealed some differences in VAS scores according to professional characteristics. In Experiment 2, BAPA scores were found to behave similarly to subjective ratings of facial beauty, but showed a relatively weak correlation coefficient with the VAS scores. Experiment 3 found that the decisive factors for facial attractiveness were different for men and women. Composite images of attractive Indian male and female faces were constructed. Conclusions Our photogrammetric study, statistical analysis, and average composite faces of an Indian population provide valuable information about subjective perceptions of facial beauty and attractive facial structures in the Indian population.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.66-75
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of two types of stretching extensor carpi radialis on the visual analog scale (VAS), pressure-pain thresholds (PPTs), grip strength (GS), and strength of wrist extensor (SWE) in patients with lateral epicondylalgia. Sixteen patients with lateral epicondylalgia were recruited for this study and randomly assigned to two groups; the conventional stretching group (CS) and the stretching of proximal functional massage group (PFM); the VAS, PPTs, GS, and SWE were measured before and after the intervention. Over a period of stretching exercises were performed for five minutes per day, five days per week. The paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to determine the statistical differences in the VAS, PPTs, GS, and SWE (pre- and post-test). The Independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the effects of stretching exercises between the CS and PFM groups. The results of this study demonstrated that in the PFM group, the PPTs, GS, and SWE significantly increased, and the VAS decreased (p<.05). In the CS group, the VAS and GS increased significantly after the three-week intervention (p<.05). Pain was decreased and strength (GS and SWE) was increased in the PFM group, compared to the CS group (p<.05). The findings of this study indicate that PFM technique can be applied for decreasing pain and increasing the GS and SWE in patients with lateral epicondylalgia.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.67-80
• /
• 2008

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of kinesio taping on nuchal pain caused by traffic accidents. Methods : The 40 patients were divided into 2 groups : Group A was treated except taping and Group B was treated with taping. Both Group were treated with Acupuncture, Phy-Tx and Herb-med. Patients were evaluated and analyzed Visual Analog Scale(VAS), Pain Rating Score(PRS) and Neck Disability Index(NDI). Results : 1. Group B was significantly decreased in VAS, NDI after 3 days of treatment. 2. Group B was significantly decreased in PRS after 6 days of treatment. 3. Group A was significantly decreased in VAS, PRS and NDI after 9 days of treatment. 4. Group B compared with the Group A was decreased in VAS and NDI after 12 days of treatment. 5. Group B compared with the Group A was significantly decreased in PRS after 9 days of treatment. Conclusions : We found out that kinesio taping treatment is considered to be effective and useful on nuchal pain caused by traffic accidents.