• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• 제28권2호
• /
• pp.13-22
• /
• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of food intake on radial pulse amplitude. Methods : Thirty one healthy male subjects participated in this study. Radial pulse was measured using 3 dimensional pulse imaging system (DMP-3000) before, right after, 40 minutes after, 80 minutes after and 120 minutes after food intake. Results : 1. The amplitude of h1 increased significantly right after food intake compared to 'before food intake' at all 6 measuring points. Later on, it decreased back as time passed, however, even 120 minutes later, it was still higher than 'before food intake' 2. Pulse energy, which is calculated from pulse waves acquired with five sensors, increased after food intake as well. Conclusions : Food intake exerts an influence on radial pulse amplitude, resulting in increase of h1 and pulse energy.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• 제28권4호
• /
• pp.125-135
• /
• 2011

Objectives : This study is aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of Ryodoraku for traditional Korean medicine practice reported in the Korean literature. Methods : A search of seven Korean databases was performed up to May 2011 using the search term 'Ryodoraku(in Korean)'. All clinical studies on diagnostic Ryodoraku characteristics were included. Results : The search yielded 59 studies, of which 5 were considered suitable for this analysis. Four were observational studies. Only one was a controlled trial. Average Ryodoraku score(RS), mean values for each measure point, physiologic limit, number of Pyesaek and Gyeokcha, and pattern classification were used as references for the analysis. Correlations were observed between average RS and idiopathic Parkinson's disease, some sub-groups of respiratory disease, chronic low back pain, and menopause. Some mean values for measure points showed particularly high or low tendencies in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, chronic low back pain, and menopause. Positive correlations were observed between the number of Pyesaek and H-Y stage in idiopathic Parkinson's disease and F2(肝) and the modified Kupperman's index with menopausal women. The four classes, organized based on Ryodoraku pattern, showed differences in various characteristics. Conclusions : Since only five studies met the experimental conditions, this evaluation of the diagnostic value of Ryodoraku in various situations is limited. Future studies should be conducted using various physiologic and pathologic situations.

• 한방재활의학과학회지
• /
• 제31권4호
• /
• pp.49-63
• /
• 2021

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the trend in treating fracture with acupuncture and to evaluate the quality of case reports. Methods All case reports of fractures treated with acupuncture were extracted from four Korean web databases. We classified these studies by five fracture sites and investigated frequently used meridian and acupoint, outcome measurements, treatment period. And we assessed the quality of the case reports by the STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) guidelines. Results A total of 33 case reports were included. The outcome measurements were divided into six categories, and the outcome measurements used in more than three studies showed improvement in patient symptoms. The mainly used meridians for each fracture site were as follows: chest and abdomen (GB, LR, CV), back (BL, GB), upper limb (LI, TE), lower Limb (GB, ST, BL, SP). The most commonly used acupoints for each fracture site were as follows: chest and abdomen (Ashi points, GB24, GB25, GB26, LR13, LR14, CV16, CV17, CV18, CV19), back (BL23, BL24, BL25, BL26, BL40, BL51, BL52, BL60, GB34), upper limb (LI4, LI10, LI11, TE3), lower limb (GB34, GB40). According to the STRICTA guidelines, more than 54.54% of the reports were found to be 'not reported' or 'not sufficient' in the following categories: 'response sought', 'description of participating acupuncturist', and 'number of needle insertions per subject per session'. Conclusions The meridians and acupuncture points frequently used for acupuncture treatment of fractures were near the fracture site. Future clinical studies involving acupuncture must be reported in accordance with the STRICTA guidelines to improve transparency and uniformity.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• 제25권1호
• /
• pp.85-97
• /
• 2008

Objectives : Moxibustion therapy is one of the most popular oriental treatments in Korea. In this study, we operate the in-depth interview for use of moxibustion therapy in Korea. Methods : Survey questions were developed based on consensus of acupuncture professors. The list of the Korean medical doctors with experiences more than 10 years is provided by the Association of the Korean Oriental Medicine. The in-depth interview was conducted in 30 Korean medical doctors who answered in the previous telephone survey that they use moxibustion therapy for more than 30 % of patients everyday. Interview survey with them were conducted by the well-trained interviewers of Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine in medical researcher from 22th May to 28th June 2007. Results : Korean medical doctors prefer to use the moxibustion with moxa stick (83.9%). The most common treatment disease was musculo-skeletal disorder (28.9%), gynecology (14.1%), digestive disorder (28.6%). The most common treatment area was the abdomen (35.3%), back (22.5%), lower extremity (15.8%) and upper extremity (16.9%). Indirect moxibustion’s was as frequent as 73.5% of moxibustion method. The most common instrument for treating was mini-moxa of manufactured goods (39.3%). Most Korean medical doctors (48.8%) took up the position that bring symptom relief following good treatment area. 'High preferences of patients' (32.7%) was one of moxibustion strong points but 'Lots of smell and smoke' (54.7%)' was a weak points. The most common side effects was the 'slight burn' (34.9%), 'skin rash' (22.5%), 'skin pruritus' (23.8%) Conclusions : This survey provides unique insight into the perception of the Korea medical doctor at moxibustion therapy. Future research needs to provide more in-depth insight into doctor views of the experience.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• 제36권1호
• /
• pp.1-18
• /
• 2019

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture treatment for recovery of patients with vertebral compression fracture(VCF). Methods : We searched ten English and Chinese and seven Korean database up to April 2018. Randomised controlled trials(RCTs), quasi-RCTs, non-radomised Controlled Trials(CCTs) were eligible. Quasi-RCTs and CCTs were assessed only for safety assessment. Pain and adverse events were primary outcome of this review. Quality of life, dysfunction, patient satisfaction, incidence of new vertebral compression fracture were regarded as secondary outcomes. The risk of bias was assessed by two independent authors using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Level of evidence was tabulated using the GRADE methods. Results : Of 1656 screened, 15 RCTs, 1 quasi-RCT and 3 CCTs were included. Number of participants per study ranged from 45 to 135. Most of the studies had unclear or high risk of bias and considerable heterogeneity in terms of type of intervention, comparison and time-points for outcome measurement. Compared to usual care alone, acupuncture combined with usual care showed short-term favorable results for pain relief in patients with VCF(5 studies, n=252, MD -1.05 point on a 0 to 10 point scale, 95% CI -1.45 to -0.65, $I^2=74%$). Four studies reported mild and temporary adverse events, and no serious adverse events were reported. One study descriptively reported that acupuncture was effective for improving quality of life without providing numerical outcomes. There were no reports of patient satisfaction and incidence of new VCF. Conclusions : Level of evidence is very low for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for pain, harms and other clinical outcomes in patients with VCF. Included studies suffered from incomplete reporting, high or unclear risk of bias and substantial heterogeneity between studies. Future high-quality RCTs are needed to assess whether acupuncture is beneficial for recovery of patients with VCF.