• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2010

Objectives : Tai Chi for arthritis was developed in 1997 by Paul Lam, M.D. of family medicine in Australia. It is an exercise treatment program and a good approaching method for arthritis. However its application is limited to arthritis of knee joint only. Even there have been no clinical study in korean traditional medical society. The aim of this study is to investigate effect of the Tai Chi for arthritis on chronic pain of body. Methods : We designed this trial as objectives were (1) senior female over 60 years, (2) suffering for osteoarthritis and chronic body pain, (3) have no physical or mental dysfunctions (4) able to walk and exercise alone. Objectives mactched these criteria had been trained the Tai Chi for arthritis 2 hours a day for 21 weeks. Before and after training, pain of 8 joints (neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, waist, hip, knee, ankle) were estimated with the VAS(Visual Analog Scale). Results : Training the Tai Chi for arthritis relieved multiple joint pain(especially neck, lower back, shoulder, wrist and knee) and these were statistically significant. Conclusions : This study is a pilot study to investigate effect of the Tai Chi for arthritis on chronic pain of whole body. Absence of control group, and other scale to test joint function except VAS were limitations of this study. It is the first clinical approach about Tai Chi in korean medicine field, also the first study of Tai Chi for pain of the whole body.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2008

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate if Sweet Bee Venom(SBV) Therapy has the equal effect in comparison with Bee Venom (BV) Therapy on Chronic Lower Back Pain. Methods Clinical studies were conducted to 39 patients who were treated Chronic Lower Back Pain in Dept. of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongeui University from March 1 to June 30, 2008. Subjects were randomly devided into 2 groups : BV treated group(Group A, n=19), SBV treated group(Group B, n=20) In BV treated group(Group A), we treated patients with dry needle acupuncture and BV Therapy. In SBV treated group(Group B), we treated patients with dry needle acupuncture and SBV Therapy. All process of treatment were performed by double blinding method. 1. To estimate the efficacy of venom in controlling pain, we have checked Visual Analog Scale(VAS). 2. For evaluating functional changes of patients, we have checked Oswestry Lower Back Disability Questionnaire(ODI). 3. To estimate Itching which is the most prominent symptom of allergic reaction, we have checked Visual Analog Scale(VAS). Results 1. In controlling pain, the results of BV treated group(Group A) is more effective than that of SBV treated group(Group B). 2. In promoting function, the results of BV treated group (Group A) is more effective than that of SBV treated group(Group B). 3. In controlling itching, the results of SBV treated group(Group B) is more effective than that of BV treated group(Group A). Conclusions According to the study, SBV Therapy shows more effective result than BV Therapy in controlling itching. But BV Therapy is more effective than SBV Therapy in controlling pain and promoting function.

• Clinical Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.49-52
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• 2021

Bertolotti's syndrome (BS) refers to chronic low back pain (LBP) associated with lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV). Many studies suggest that the anomalous articulation alters biomechanics, resulting in discomfort on the ipsilateral side. Herein, we present an unusual case of BS presenting pain on the non-articulated side. A 46-year-old man visited our clinic with history of chronic LBP, refractory to treatment of analgesics, modalities and manual therapies. Electrodiagnostic studies showed no evidence of lumbosacral radiculopathy. Radiographies noted unilateral pseudoarticulation of L5~S1 vertebrae, on the contralateral side of his pain. The pain improved dramatically after sacroiliac joint block and facet joint block with iliolumbar ligament infiltration on the non-articulated side. Clinicians should be cautious that the unaffected joint in BS may serve an important role in altered lumbopelvic biomechanism, since it might eventually lead to intractable chronic LBP when overlooked.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.83-91
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• 2020

PURPOSE: Postural and structural asymmetry due to muscle imbalances around the lower back and pelvis are the causes of back pain. Muscle imbalances in patients with chronic low back pain affect the pelvic tilt and movement, and it is necessary to assess the pelvic movement ability using the appropriate tools to determine the mediating effects of lower back pain. This paper reports the reliability and validity of the Sensbalance Therapy Cushion (STC) for pelvic movement and proprioception. METHODS: In this study, the Wii balance board (WBB) was used as a golden standard for pelvic movement measurements. FABQ, KODI, Myovision, and Pelvic movement were measured in 50 patients with chronic low back pain. The correlation between the lower-back muscle activity and pelvic movement was checked. The pelvic movement parameter was measured twice to determine the intra-rater reliability. RESULTS: The STC showed high test-retest reliability in the pelvic tilt measurements (ICC = .672 - .809). The test-retest reliability of proprioception measurements (ICC = .588 - .859) and reaction time measurements (ICC = .542 - .836) were also high. The relationship between the WBB and STC showed a significant positive correlation with the pelvic tilt test (p < .01). The posterior pelvic tilt and lower-back muscle activity showed a significant negative correlation (p < .01). The pelvic left tilt and lower-back muscle activity showed a significant negative correlation (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The results revealed the high reliability and validity of the STC. Therefore, the STC can be used as an objective measuring device for evaluating pelvic tilt, proprioception, and reaction time in low back pain patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.363-373
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• 2010

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare differences in thoracolumbar ranges of motions by comparing ratios among 4 type diagnosis for patient with chronic low back pain. Methods : The subjects were 58 chronic low back pain patients. A motion analysis program (Global Postural System) was used after photography for posture measurement. To analyze differences in mobility percentages and ratios of thoracolumbar ranges of motion, one-way ANOVA was used. Results : Regional difference spinal posture and movement were found to diagnosis patients with chronic low back pain. Comparison of thoracolumbar ranges of motion revealed significant differences in the thoracic region during forward-bending of the trunk (p<.05). In the upper thoracic region, the herniated intervertebral lumbar disc (HILD) group was significantly larger than the spinal stenosis/herniated intervertebral lumbar disc (SS/HILD) group (p<.05). In the lower thoracic region, chronic sprains (CS) were significantly greater than in the spinal stenosis (SS) group and in the (SS/HJLD) group (p<.05). Comparative analysis of thoracic/lumbar mobility ratio showed the CS group's ratio during forward bending was largest: 1.66, while the HILD group's ratio was smallest: 84 a significant difference between the two groups (p<.01). Diagnosis was not associated with difference in thoracolumbar backward-bending range of motion (p>.05). Conclusion : Theses results indicate the clinical efficacy of diagnosing for chronic low back pain by evaluating spinal mobility.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a bergamot essential oil-inhalation on chronic pain after surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods: Fifty-two subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental (bergamot essential oil-inhalation) and control (almond oil-inhalation) group. All patients understood the purpose of this study and a written informed consent for the study was obtained. Results: Bergamot essential oil-inhalation was conducted during twenty minutes. Visual analog scale, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate were measured before and after treatment in the two groups. The visual analog scale score, heart rate, and respiratory rate in bergamot essential oil-inhalation group were significantly lower than those in almond oil-inhalation group. However, there was no significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the two groups. Conclusion: Therefore, bergamot essential oil-inhalation is effective in alleviating pain, heart rate, and respiratory rate. These results suggest that bergamot essential oil-inhalation can be a useful method for the relief of chronic pain during the treatment after spinal surgery.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.155-164
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• 2001

Purpose: this study was implemented to develop new nursing intervention, Kyongrak massage, and to examine its effect on chronic pain in elderly women. Method: Kyongrak massage is a manipulation massaging on Kyonghyul site, and Duboo, Kyongchoo, Chucksoo, Hajee, Sangjee Kyongrak massages were used in this study. The subjects(11persons) took Kyongrak massage on head, neck, spinal cord, upper extremities and back lower extremities for 25minutes daily during 5days. The dependent variables were subjective health state, paid, blood pressure, pulse and body temperature. This study was carried out, at 10-12 o'clock, from August 7th, to 22th, 2000. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, paired t-test by SPSS PC. Results: subjective health state((t=-3.560, p=.005), body temperature(t=-2.557, p=.029) were increased, and pain level(t=7.884, p=0.000), systolic blood pressure(t=2.923, p=.015) were decreased significantly by Kyongrak massage. Conclusions: The above results have informed us that this Kyongrak massage program(Duboo, Kyongchoo, Chucksoo, Hajee, sangjee) for 25minutes is a useful nursing intervention to decrease chronic pain in each life styles.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.127-139
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• 2006

Objectives: To explore the quality of life in patients with temporomandibular disorders and to evaluate it in terms of source and duration of the pain. Methods: A total of 61 patients with temporomandibular disorders participated in this study. According to pain source, they were divided into 2 groups, masticatory muscle pain (MMP) group and intracapsular pain (ICP) group. And each group was divided into acute phase group (pain duration <6 months) and chronic phase group (pain duration=6 months). The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to measure patients' quality of life. The scores for eight-scale profile and the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) of the SF-36 were compared between groups (MMP vs. ICP and acute vs. chronic). Student t-test was used to analyze the difference of the scores of the SF-36 between MMP and ICP groups. Results: MMP group showed significantly lower score in the 3 scales of the SF-36 (Role limitations due to emotional problems, Vitality, Bodily pain) when compared to ICP group. In acute phase there was no significant difference between MMP and ICP group in PCS as well as MCS scores, but in chronic phase MMP group showed significantly lower MCS score than ICP group. Conclusions: The masticatory muscle pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders,negatively influences the quality of life especially in chronic phase, and the mental components of quality of life are significantly interfered in the TMD patients with chronic masticatory muscle pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 2005

Background: Chronic headache (CH) constitutes a significant public health problem, impacting on both the individual sufferer and society. Patients with CH, unresponsive to drug therapy or nerve block, suffer considerable disability due to the frequency and severity of attacks; therefore, they should be considered for novel therapy. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) has shown significant promise in the management of CH. In this paper, we review recent evidence on the efficacy of BoNT-A, and also report our experience with this treatment in CH patients. Methods: BoNT-A was used to treat 69 CH patients, including 47 in a chronic migraine group and 22 in a non-migraine CH group, who showed therapy-resistance to palliative drug or nerve block. We investigated the demography, dosage and site of BoNT-A injection, and used a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and the degree of satisfaction. The data were analyzed using t-tests and a Friedman repeated measures analysis of variance on ranks. Results: Significant decreases in the VAS for pain were found in both the chronic migraine and non-migraine CH groups, from 2, 4 and 12 weeks and from 4 and 12 weeks, respectively, after BoNT-A administration (P < 0.05). The chronic migraine group showed significantly lower VAS scores for pain than the non-migraine CH group from 2, 4 and 12 weeks after the BoNT-A administration (P < 0.05). Twenty eight patients (59.2%) in the chronic migraine group and eight (36.4%) in the non-migraine CH were satisfied with the BoNT-A treatment. Conclusions: This clinical study revealed that the use of BoNT-A demonstrated efficacy for CH patients resistant to drug therapy or nerve block. Moreover, BoNT-A proved itself more effective in the chronic migraine than non-migraine CH group.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.304-314
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• 2021

Background: The study investigated virtual reality (VR) immersion in alleviating procedure-related pain in patients with chronic pain undergoing fluoroscopy-guided minimally-invasive intervention in a prone position at an outpatient clinic. Methods: In this prospective randomized controlled study, 38 patients undergoing lumbar sympathetic ganglion block were randomized into either the VR or the control group. In the VR group, procedure-related pain was controlled via infiltration of local anesthetics while watching a 30-minute VR hypnotic program. In the control group, the skin infiltration alone was used, with the VR device switched off. The primary endpoint was an 11-point score on the numerical rating scale, indicating procedure-related pain. Patients' satisfaction with pain control, anxiety levels, the need for additional local anesthetics during the procedure, hemodynamic stability, and any adverse events were assessed. Results: Procedure-related pain was significantly lower in the VR group (3.7 ± 1.4) than in the control group (5.5 ± 1.7; P = 0.002). Post-procedural anxiety was lower in the VR group than in the control group (P = 0.025), with a significant reduction from pre-procedural anxiety (P < 0.001). Although patients' satisfaction did not differ significantly (P = 0.158) between the groups, a higher number of patients required additional local anesthetics in the control group (n = 13) than in the VR group (n = 4; P = 0.001). No severe adverse events occurred in either group during the study. Conclusions: VR immersion can be safely used as a novel adjunct to reduce procedural pain and anxiety during fluoroscopic pain intervention.