• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.300-307
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• 2019

Objectives : This study details on a case of acupotomy for relapsed lateral malleolar bursitis. Methods : A 71-year-old woman with lateral malleolar bursitis was treated with acupotomy twice in an outpatient setting. A sterilized, disposable, blade width 0.5 mm × needle length 50 mm sized acupotomy was administered on GB40 and BL62 on each visit. Pain intensity assessment using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and the response evaluation criteria was conducted right after each treatment. Results : Pain on NRS declined from 5 to less than 1 after twice of acupotomy treatment. This result was regarded as 'Complete Response' using the response evaluation criteria. There were no side effects during whole treatment procedure at all. Conclusions : It is turned out that acupotomy can have a positive clinical effect on lateral malleolar bursitis in this case without any adverse effect. Further controlled studies on acupotomy for lateral malleolar bursitis are required for clinical application.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.35-43
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this review is to overview and evaluate the current state of the usage of acupotomy. Methods : Eight electronic databases(Science direct, Pubmed, five Korean databases, CKNI) were searched for relevant articles and data from January 1999 to May 2014. Results : Thirty-nine articles were included. Acupotomy were used in musculoskeletal diseases(n=34) and other diseases(n=5). Among musculoskeletal diseases, lumbar spine(n=12) neck(n=5) and shoulder(n=3) diseases were mostly often used. Most studies(n=21) had small sample size(under 10 people) and combined with other therapies(acupuncture, herbal medicine, physical therapy, etc.). Conclusion : Acupotomy appears to be effective and useful for musculoskeletal diseases and some other diseases. But there were a few clinical studies for acupotomy and had many limitations to judge its effectiveness. Further modified studies are required.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.9-18
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• 2010

Objectives : This study will broaden understanding of acupotomy therapy through comparison of side effects and complication which can be caused by the mechanism of treatment, surgical methods, and procedure by acupotomy therapy and epidural neuroplasty. Moreover, through an in-depth analysis of headache affected by two procedures, this research is supposed to find prospective cures for headache after acupotomy therapy. Methods : To compare acupotomy therapy with epidural neuroplasty this research was done using a comparative analysis eight theses about acupotomy therapy since 1995, as well as eleven theses about epidural neuroplasty since 2000. Other theses and data were used as references in the process of comparative analysis. Results : Acupotomy therapy and epidural neuroplasty, new treatments of damaged discs in the spine and stenosis made in 1990s, have the mechanism of treatment in common in that adhesion, a node or scar caused by the soft tissue damage is removed by putting catheter or acupuncture into the lesions. Epidural neuroplasty has additional injection into the lesions, which is different from acupotomy therapy in the process of surgical procedure. There are various reports of positive effects about curative effect in these two treatments. The two procedures may cause various complications. Headache may be a complication after surgery. The headache after acupotomy therapy is characterized as being an ache in the body, which is similar to that of post-dural puncture headache in the outbreaks and symptom. Headache after percutaneous epidural neuroplasty appears in general, which is similar to a headache as a result of the increased pressure of the brain spinal cord regardless of posture. Conclusions : Although they are alike in the mechanism of treatment, surgical methods and side effects, and complication after they are carried out as a result of analyzing theses related to acupotomy therapy and percutaneous epidural neuroplasty, there is a difference in aspects and mechanism of headaches experienced after the procedure.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.161-168
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was done to show the clinical effect of miniscalpel acupuncture treatment on osteoarthritis of the knee which is refractory to acupuncture treatment. Methods : A patient was treated with acupuncture for three weeks, non-treated(wash out period) for two weeks, and treated with miniscalpel acupuncture for three weeks. The effect of treatments were measured with Visual Analogue Scale(VAS), Range of Motion(ROM), Short form McGill pain questionnaire(SF-MPQ), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC). Results : During the three weeks of acupuncture treatment, VAS, SF-MPQ and WOMAC improved, but after two weeks of the wash out period each score worsened. During the three weeks of miniscalpel acupuncture VAS, SF-MPQ, and WOMAC improved while ROM improved remarkably. Conclusion : These results suggest that miniscalpel acupuncture might be a therapeutic option for knee degenerative osteoarthritis patients who does not responded to acupuncture treatment.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.153-159
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• 2016

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to report the effect of Miniscalpel acupuncture therapy on a patient with traumatic tears of both meniscuses. Methods : We treated a patient with tears in both meniscuses stemming from a traffic injury. The clinical effects of this treatment are measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), European Quality of Life - 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Results : After Miniscalpel acupuncture therapy, the VAS score of the left knee changed from 7 to 3, while the VAS score of the right knee changed from 7 to 2~3. WOMAC of both knees changed from 70 to 8. Night pain and day-to-day pain have disappeared, with only a slightly heavy feeling remaining. Conclusion : These results suggest that Miniscalpel acupuncture therapy may be effective for treating traumatic meniscus tear.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.407-420
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• 2018

Old documents related to the head family of admiral Yi Sun-shin have been preserved by the descendants of Deoksu Yi clan and various kinds of documents have remained even today. Seven documents issued by the king,"Goshin Gyoji", "Jeunggik Gyoji", "Gyochub", "Gyoseo", "Yuseo", "Hongpae", and "Chikmyung", showed the time when they were made. Because they have been kept in their original form, these documents make it possible to identify the characteristics of the paper used to create documents during that time and to compare the records in those documents with other cultural properties based on scientific investigation and analysis of conservation treatment processing. The characteristics of Oebal-tteugi(Heulim-tteugi) in the papermaking process were identified through the shape of the surface fibers, and Dochim processing was found in most of the old documents with the help of density measurement and paper surface analysis. All the papers were found to be made of paper mulberry, and bast fibers of mature mulberry were mainly used for the process.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.169-173
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to report the effect of Dochim & Gwanchim therapy combined with Korean medicine treatment in patients of herniated lumbar disc. Methods : Clinical study was conducted to 103 patients who were treated in Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine, Korean Medicine Hospital, Daejeon University from 1st september, 2011 th 31th July, 2013. We divided into two groups. The group A(n=80) was treated with Gwanchim therapy combined with Korean medicine treatment, and the group B(n=23) was treated only Korean medicine treatment. We evaluated the treatment effect with the verbal numerical rating scale(VNRS), and compared admission day and one day after admission. Results : 1. In both two groups VNRS was decreased and this therapy is safety. 2. In group A, VNRS was decreased 10 to 5.68 and in group B, VNRS was decreased 10 to 8.7 Conclusion : This study demonstrates that Gwan acupuncture therapy has significant effect reducing pain for HIVD(herniated lumbar intervertebral disc) patients.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.39-54
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• 2017

Objectives This study aimed to search the Chinese literature on acupotomy for lumbar disc herniation and to analyze their methodologies. Methods Using 4 Chinese databases (CBM [www.sinomed.ac.cn], CNKI [www.cnki.net], WANFANG [www.wanfangdata.com], and WEIPU [www.cqvip.com]), we searched for clinical trials conducted in China over the past 10 years on acupotomy for lumbar disc herniation. The search terms used were "(腰椎椎間板脫出症 or 椎間板脫出症 or 椎間板脫出) and (针刀or 针刀松解术)" and we selected only meta-analyses that were published before December 2016. From among these meta-analyses, we excluded duplicates and selected the remaining 36 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for our final analysis. Results The largest numbers of acupotomy papers were published in 2008 and 2013 (8 papers each). The average number of subjects was 120; the most common treatment method used for the control group was standard acupuncture (in 11 papers), and the most common concurrent treatment in the treatment group was massage (in 10 papers). The most common site of needle insertion was between the spinous processes, or at less than 0.5 cm on either side of the spinous processes (in 24 papers). The most common site of adhesion lysis was at the transverse process (in 24 papers). Two studies were blinded, and the mean Jadad score was 1.17. Conclusions A large number of RCTs on the use of acupotomy for lumbar disc herniation are conducted every year in China, and the procedure has been shown to be very effective, with few adverse effects. However, the average quality of the studies was not very high. Based on our study, we expect several high-quality clinical trials on acupotomy to be conducted in Korea in the future.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.119-126
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of Korean medical treatments combined with acupotomy on patients diagnosed with a herniated intervertebral disc of the lumbar spine. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of twenty in patients diagnosed with a herniated intervertebral disc of the lumbar spine. They had received Korean medical treatment combined with acupotomy on tender points in the gluteus minimus muscle and piriformis muscle at Gwangju Korean Medicine Hospital of Dong-Shin University from April, 2014 to December, 2014. To evaluate the efficacy of the treatments, the twenty in patients were asked to complete the Numerical Rating Scale(NRS) and the Oswestry Disability Index(ODI) before acupotomy, the first day after acupotomy, the third day after acupotomy, and the fifth day after acupotomy. Results : 1. NRS significantly decreased from $6.15{\pm}1.27$ to $3.90{\pm}1.45$. 2. ODI significantly decreased from $23.64{\pm}8.76$ to $15.95{\pm}7.35$. Conclusions : Korean medical treatment combined with acupotomy on tender points in the gluteus minimus muscle and piriformis muscle might be effective in reducing pain and improving the life quality of patients with a herniated intervertebral disc of the lumbar spine. We hope that further studies will be done to produce more clinical data and ensure effective application of these results.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.91-104
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• 2018

Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Acupotomy on the pain reduction and functional improvement of patients with Acute low back pain. Methods We studied 60 patients with Acute low back pain with Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) 5 or higher in admission and had admitted to Department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation of Daejeon University from March 1, 2017 to October 31, 2017. 30 patients had received Acupotomy combined Korean Medicine treatment(such as acupuncture, moxabustion, herbal medicine, etc) and the other 30 had received Korean Medicine treatment only. The analysis was conducted as a retrospective study which analyzes the patient's medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 24 program. We used NRS to evaluate pain reduction, used Range of Motion (ROM) and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) to evaluate function improvement, and used EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and EuroQoL-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) to assess quality of life. Finally, a five-point Likert scale was used to assess treatment satisfaction. Results The analysis revealed that patients who were treated with Acupotomy showed statistically significant NRS reduction, improvement of ROM and RMDQ, improvement of EQ-5D and EQ-VAS and satisfaction compared to those who just recevied Korean Medicine treatment. Conclusions In conclusion, we found that the Acupotomy showed a positive effect on pain resolving, functional rehabilitation and quality of life in patients with Acute low back pain.