척추관내 인대 골화증 6례에 대한 임상적 고찰 -후종인대 골화증(OPLL) 3례 및 황색인대 골화증(OLF) 3례-

Clinical studies on Ossification of ligaments within spinal canal -3 cases of OPLL and 3 cases of OLF-

Objective : Ossification of ligaments within spinal canal, i.e., OPLL and OLF, is uncommon clinical entity as a cause of the progressive compression myelopathy or radiculopathy. More and more cases being reported in the field of occidental medicine, but very few cases have been reported in the field of oriental medicine. The purpose of this study is to report on oriental medical approaches to OPLL and OLF. Methods : Subjects of this study are 3 cases of OPLL and 3 cases of OLF who visited Won-kwang oriental medical hospital(Dept. of acupuncture and Moxibustion) from May, 2002 to October, 2003. These patients undergo oriental medical treatment such as acupuncture, cupping, Bee-Venom therapy and herbal medication and so on. We made a comparison JOA scores between before treatment and after treatment and we evaluated results of treatment. Results : The results of treatment in these six cases are as follows ; One case was evaluated 'Excellent', one case was evaluated 'Good', two cases were evaluated 'Fair' and two cases were evaluated 'Failure'. One of these cases had a surgical operation after discharge from this hospital. Conclusions : After oriental medical care for these cases, there are some improvements such as decrease of pains, relief of myelopathy etc. But, it had little effect on some cases, therefore we considered that more special study to find various and effective methods of oriental medical treatment for these diseases should be made.