• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.11-20
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• 2007

The development of neonatal neuromuscular system is accomplished by the functional interaction between the spinal neurons and its target cells, skeletal muscle cells, and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting this process. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of suspension unloading (SU) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) upon the development of the neonatal spinal cord. For this study, the neonatal rats were randomly divided into three groups: a control group, an experimental group I, and an experimental group II. The SU for experimental group I and II was applied from postnatal day (PD) 5 to PD 30, and the NMES for experimental group II was applied from PD 16 to PD 30 using NMES that gave isometric contraction with 10 Hz for 30 minutes twice a day. In order to observe the effect of SU and NMES, this study observed neutrophin-3 (NT-3) and microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) immunoreactivity in the lumbar spinal cord (L4-5) at the PD 15 and PD 30. The results are as follows. At PD 15, lumbar spinal cord of experimental group I and II had significantly lower NT-3 and MAP2 immunoreactivity than control group. It proved that a microgravity condition restricted the spinal development. At PD 30, lumbar spinal cord of control group and experimental group II had significantly higher NT-3 and MAP2 immunoreactivity than experimental group I. It proved that the NMES facilitated the spinal development by spinal cord-skeletal muscle interaction. These results suggest that weight bearing during the neonatal developmental period is essential for the development of neuromuscular development. Also, the NMES on its target skeletal muscle can encourage the development of the spinal cord system with a full supplementation of the effect of weight bearing, which is an essential factor in neonatal developmental process.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.78-81
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• 2010

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has become an established clinical option for treatment of refractory chronic pain. Current hardware and implantation techniques for SCS are already highly developed and continuously improving; however, equipment failures over the course of long-term treatment are still encountered in a relatively high proportion of the cases treated with it. Percutaneous SCS leads seem to be particularly prone to dislocation and insulation failures. We describe our experience of lead breakage in the inserted spinal cord stimulator to a complex regional pain syndrome patient who obtained satisfactory pain relief after the revision of SCS.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.123-126
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• 2006

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been used since 1967 for refractory chronic pain. SCS has recently undergone a variety of technical modifications and advances, and it has been applied in a variety of pain conditions. SCS has been most commonly applied for those patients with chronic back and leg pain and failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). The clinical hallmark of FBSS is chronic postoperative pain. The pain pattern varies and the pain may show an axial or radicular distribution. Chronic intractable pain after FBSS is difficult to treat. This report describes our experience with treating chronic pain in two patients who suffered from FBSS with a spinal cord stimulator. A permanent spinal cord stimulator was implanted after a successful trial of stimulation with temporarily implanted electrodes. After 5 months of follow-up, the two patients had satisfactory improvement of their pain.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.91-102
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• 2015

Two patients, diagnosed as cervical spinal cord injury, were hospitalized and treated by Korean medical interventions with Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). The range of motion of the shoulder joint, manual muscle test were adopted to measure the resulting motor recovery after treatment. And the Korean version of Barthel index (K-MBI) was adopted as a method of measuring the improvement of quality of life after treatment. The range of motions and muscle strengths of the shoulder joints were improved. The activities of daily living were slightly improved in case 2, but showed no improvement in case 1. FES was effective for upper extremities rehabilitation of spinal cord injured patients. Further studies are needed to set up an Korean medical protocol for spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.110-113
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• 2001

In controlling chronic intractable pains, the current therapeutic methods used are exercise, over the counter medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy, opioid medication, neural blockade, operation, etc., spinal cord stimulation being the last resort. Spinal cord stimulation was initiated when Shearly and others clinically tested the Gate control theory of Melzack and Wall. This had triggered the advancement of theoretic research on the mechanism and hardware necessary and has resulted in an accumulation of clinical experiences. This is known to be effective for treating sympathetic pain, arachnoiditis, failed back pain syndrome, radiculopathy, peripheral vascular disease, phantom limb syndrome, post-herpetic neuralgia, peripheral neuropathy, and angina pectoris. This report describes our experience in experimental spinal cord stimulation in patients with simultaneous post-herpetic neuralgia and herniated intervertebral disc. There wasn't any improvement in the post-herpetic neuralgia but the symptoms of a herniated intervertebral disc was much ameliorated. This was quite an unexpected result. The patient's back pain returned when the stimulation stopped.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.85-93
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• 2019

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of abdominal functional electrical stimulation on peak cough flow and forced vital capacity in patients with cervical spinal cord injury. Methods : The study examined 20 patients with cervical spinal cord injury. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups. All subjects performed conservative physical therapy for 30 minutes. The experimental group also underwent abdominal functional electrical stimulation for at least 20 minutes per day. Abdominal functional electrical stimulation was applied to the rectus abdominis muscle twice each day, three times a week, for four weeks. In all subjects, the peak cough flow was measured using a peak flow meter and forced vital capacity was assessed using a spirometer. Results : The experimental group showed a significant increase in peak cough flow and forced vital capacity in pre-post measurements (p<.05), while the control group showed a significant increase only in peak cough flow. Conclusion : These findings suggest that conservative physical therapy in combination with the abdominal functional electrical stimulation can improve peak cough flow and forced vital capacity in patients with cervical spinal cord injury.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.229-231
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• 1996

Spinal cord stimulation(SCS) was first attempted to relieve intractable pain in 1966. SCS has evolved into percutaneously implanted electrode with aim of activating spinal pain-inhibiting mechanism via dorsal columns. SCS is valuable for the treatment of many painful and difficult to treat conditions such as postamputation pain, painful peripheral neuropathies, chronic sciatic pain and so on. We treated a case of causalgia of the right lower extremity with successful outcome of 90% sustained relief of pain. And patient has satisfied using SCS(Model MNR-94, Neuromed) for 6 months follow-up.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.165-167
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• 2009

Pain caused by chronic pancreatitis is medically intractable and resistant to conventional interventional or surgical treatment. We report a case of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for intractable pain due to chronic pancreatitis. The patient had a history of nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis and multiple emergency room visits as well as repeated hospitalization including multiple nerve block and morphine injection for 3 years. We implanted surgical lead at T6-8 level on this patient after successful trial of percutaneous electrode. The patient experienced a decreased visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain intensity and amount of opioid intake. The patient was followed for more than 14 months with good outcome and no further hospitalization. From our clinical case, spinal cord stimulation on intractable pain due to chronic pancreatitis revealed moderate pain control outcome. We suggest that SCS is an effective, noninvasive treatment option for abdominal visceral pain. Further studies and long term follow-up are needed to fully understand the effect of SCS on abdominal visceral pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.199-202
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• 2007

Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is a condition characterized by extreme pain after spinal surgery. Treatment of FBSS is aimed at improving function, using interdisciplinary approaches that encompass rehabilitation, psychological therapy, and pain management. If no response to conventional treatment is noted, a more interventional technique such as spinal cord stimulation (SCS) should be used. SCS is a well-established method of managing a variety of chronic neuropathic pain conditions. A 32 year-old male patient afflicted by FBSS that was irresponsive to both medication and several repeated nerve blocks showed improvement of symptoms after cervical and thoracic SCS with a single electrode. Centered on the midline of the spinal cord, single-electrode SCS can be an effective method for relieving pain and improving function.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 1993

Electrical or chemical stimulation of many areas in the brainstem modulates activity of dorsal horn neurons (DHN). This is known to be mediated by a population of bulbospinal neurons. Yet, little is known about responses of DHNs to stimulation of the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM). Thus, the purpose of the present study is to see if there is any change in activity of DHNs when CVLM is stimulated electrically. Thirty-one DHNs were recorded from dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Fourteen DHNs (45%) were classified as wide dynamic range neurons and 9 (19%) were high threshold cells, and 4 (13%) and 4 (13%) were deep and low threshold neurons, respectively. Among 31 neurons tested for responses to stimulation of CVLM, 21 DHNs (68%) were inhibited by the electrical stimulation of CVLM ($200{\mu}A,\;100{\mu}s$ duration, 100 Hz), and 9 cells (39%) did not show any change in neuronal activity. One neuron was excited by the stimulation. The electrical stimulation of CVLM not only inhibited spontaneous activity of DHNs but also inhibited evoked responses of DHNs to somatic stimulation in the receptive field. These data suggest that CVLM is one of the pain-modulatory areas that control transmission of ascending information of noxious input to the brain from the spinal cord.