Background: Medication is generally recommended to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease in hypertensive patients. However, considering the difficulties and economic factors associated with long-term medication, interest in taichi as an exercise treatment method has increased recently in Korean medical practice. Numerous studies have suggested that taichi can be used to treat various diseases and that is can affect psychosomatic factors such as anxiety. This study aims to evaluate the effect of taichi in reducing blood pressure among grade 1 hypertensive patients. Methods/design: In this randomized, active-controlled, assessor-blinded, two parallel-armed trial, 80 grade 1 hypertension patients will be recruited and randomly assigned to the usual care group or to the taichi group (n = 40 in each group). Subjects who voluntarily sign a study agreement will be educated in managing their own blood pressure by restricting salt intake, losing weight, moderating alcohol consumption, performing exercise, and regulating dietary intake at their first visit. In addition to self-management, the taichi group will perform two 60-min taichi sessions per week for a total of 8 weeks. Blood pressure will be measured as the primary outcome. In addition, body composition, heart rate, and the perceived intensity and difficulty of the exercise will be measured as secondary outcomes. Discussion: This study is a randomized controlled trial of taichi, which is not widely practiced in Korea. It may provide valuable data on the effects of taichi on hypertension, which will inform non-pharmaceutical treatment options for this disorder. Trial registration: Clinical Research Information Service, KCT0003632. Registered on 18 March 2019.

Objectives This study aimed to establish clinical evidence for acupuncture by analysing data from trials that demonstrated the efficacy of acupuncture for whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) with the following research question: Is acupuncture treatment effective for symptom alleviation in patients with WAD compared with other usual care? Design A systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources PubMed, Ovid Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, ScienceOn, KMBASE, Korean Studies Information Service System, Korea Med, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System and Research Information Sharing Service were searched from their inception to 1 October 2023. Eligibility criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture on patients with WAD. The outcomes were the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score or numerical rating scale score for neck pain, the range of motion (ROM) of the neck, the Neck Disability Index and safety. Data extraction and synthesis Two independent researchers analysed and extracted data from the selected literatures. The risk of bias and the quality of evidence were assessed according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation method, respectively. Results A total of 525 patients with WAD from eight RCTs were included in this study. The meta-analysis revealed that the outcomes showed significant differences in the pain VAS score (standard mean difference (SMD): −0.57 (–0.86 to –0.28), p<0.001) and ROM-extension (SMD: 0.47 (0.05 to 0.89), p=0.03). The risk of bias assessment revealed that four studies published after 2012 (50%, 4 out of 8 studies) showed low bias in most domains. The pain VAS score was graded as having moderate certainty. Conclusion Acupuncture may have clinical value in pain reduction and increasing the ROM for patients with WAD. High-quality RCTs must be conducted to confirm the efficacy of acupuncture in patients with WAD. Trial registration number PROSPERO CRD42021261595.

Sun-Young Park, K.M.D., Sang-Hyun Lee, K.M.D., In Heo, K.M.D., Man-Suk Hwang, K.M.D., Koh-Woon Kim, K.M.D., Jae-Heung Cho, K.M.D., Kyoung Sun Park, K.M.D., In Hyuk Ha, K.M.D., Byung-Cheul Shin, K.M.D.. J Korean Med Rehabi 2020;30:139-52. https://doi.org/10.18325/jkmr.2020.30.2.139

Background and Objectives: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of acupotomy combined with epidural steroid injection (ESI) in lumbosacral radiculopathy and examine its feasibility for the main study. Materials and Methods: This randomized, controlled, two-arm, parallel, assessor-blinded, pragmatic study included 50 patients with severe lumbosacral radiculopathy who had insufficient improvement after an ESI. Patients were randomized (1:1 ratio) into a combined treatment (acupotomy + ESI, experimental) and an ESI single treatment (control) group. Both groups underwent a total of two ESIs once every 2 weeks; the experimental group received eight additional acupotomy treatments twice a week for 4 weeks. Types of ESI included interlaminar, transforaminal, and caudal approaches. Drugs used in ESI comprised a 5–10 mL mixture of dexamethasone sodium phosphate (2.5 mg), mepivacaine (0.3%), and hyaluronidase (1500 IU). The primary outcome was the difference in changes from baseline in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores between the groups at weeks 4 and 8. The incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) was calculated to evaluate the cost-effectiveness between the groups. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed at all visits. Results: Mean ODI scores for the experimental and control groups were −9.44 (95% confidence interval [CI]: −12.71, −6.17) and −2.16 (95% CI: −5.01, 0.69) at week 4, and −9.04 (95% CI: −12.09, −5.99) and −4.76 (95% CI: −7.68, −1.84) at week 8, respectively. The difference in ODI score changes was significant between the groups at week 4 (p = 0.0021). The ICUR of the experimental group versus the control group was as economical as 18,267,754 won/quality-adjusted life years. No serious AEs were observed. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the potential clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of acupotomy combined with ESI for lumbosacral radiculopathy and its feasibility for a full-scale study. Larger, long-term follow-up clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.

This retrospective study aimed to identify the characteristics of Korean medical care utilization in patients with traffic injury (TI) and to explore the clinical effectiveness of Korean medical interventions for TI through a multicenter chart review. This multicenter, retrospective registry study gathered electronic health records from 3 hospitals between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2021. Data included treatment dates, demographic information, the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases codes, collision data, Korean medicine treatment modalities, and treatment outcomes. In total, 384 patients (182 inpatients and 202 outpatients) were included in the analysis. Patients were categorized into acute (207 patients, 53.9%), subacute (77 patients, 20.1%), and chronic (100 patients, 26.0%) phases based on the period until the visit. The most frequent Korean Standard Classification of Diseases code was “sprain and strain of cervical spine (S13.4).” All patients, except one, received Korean physiotherapy, followed by acupuncture and cupping. Comparative intragroup analysis revealed significant pain reduction in patients treated with the combination of Chuna manual therapy, herbal medicine, and pharmacopuncture and those treated with pharmacopuncture and herbal medicine only. This study highlights the characteristics of patients with TI visiting medical institutions providing Korean medicine and describes the effectiveness of Korean medicine interventions. Further comprehensive analysis with more data is necessary for future research.

Objectives : This study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic effects of Chuna Craniosacral therapy on headaches. Methods : 1. A combination of...