• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.51-58
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• 2018

Backdround: Using RUSI (Rehabilitation Ultra Sound Imiging) method, which showed high reliability in soft tissue measurements, we compared the muscle relax and contraction, sex, and physical characteristics of the activity of the multifidus muscle in patients with chronic low back pain and normal subjects. Methods: In this study, 16 patients (male: 8, female: 8) with chronic low back pain and 16 healthy adult (male: 8, female: 8) were participated. Subjects lied prone posture on the table with elbow flexed $90^{\circ}$ and shoulder abducted $120^{\circ}$ (starting position). Test was applied two types that muscle relax position and muscle contraction position. Muscle relax position is equal to starting position and muscle contraction position is that upper extremity lift up about 5cm from the table. We measured the thickness of the multifidus muscle in each position by ultrasound. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in deviation of Both Side Difference of Activated resting-Arm Lifting Ratio according to posture change between the chronic low back pain patient group and the normal group. Conclusion: The result of this study support previous study showing that there is an imbalance in the activity of multifidus in patients with chronic low back pain.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.49-59
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• 2023

PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between lumbar instability and shortening of the iliopsoas muscles in patients with chronic low back pain. METHODS: Forty-nine patients with chronic low back pain participated in this study. The modified Thomas test was used to examine the shortening state of the iliopsoas muscle. The length of the iliopsoas muscle was measured using the hip flexion angle, and those with a flexion angle of 10° or more were classified as positive. Five subtests were used for the lumbar instability test: testing for prone lumbar instability, passive lumbar extension, anterior-posterior mobility, passive straight leg raise, and age. Those who tested positive for at least three of these tests were classified as positive for the lumbar segment instability test. RESULTS: There was a significant association between the results of the lumbar instability test and the shortening of the iliopsoas test (p < .05). After analyzing the association between the iliopsoas length test and the five lumbar instability subtests, the results of the prone lumbar instability test (p < .001) and the anterior-posterior mobility test (p < .05) showed a significant association with the iliopsoas length test. CONCLUSION: The association between lumbar instability and shortening of the iliopsoas muscles was examined in 49 patients with chronic low back pain. Patients with shortened iliopsoas muscles tested positive in the lumbar instability tests more often. Hence, the length test of the iliopsoas muscle can be used to determine lumbar instability in patients with chronic low back pain.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2012

Objective : This study was done for reporting the effect of $Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method to $Ryodoraku$ on the patients with chronic low back pain Methods : We investigated 49 cases of patients with chronic low back pain, and devided patients into two groups : We treated one group by needling with $Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method, and did the other group by needling without $Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method. And we analyzed the $Ryodoraku$ score (F4). Results : 1. In $Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method group and non-$Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method group, compared with baseline, at final, $Ryodoraku$ score (F4) was significantly increased. 2. At final, $Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method group showed significant increase on $Ryodoraku$ score (F4) score compared with non-$Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method group. Conclusions : $Sa-Am$ acupuncture bladder reinforcing method showed significant improvement in $Ryodoraku$ score (F4) on chronic low back pain.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 2014

Background: Epiduroscopic laser neural decompression (ELND) has been performed as a treatment tool for chronic refractory low back pain and/or radicular pain. There are some studies about the usefulness of epiduroscopy for post lumbar surgery syndrome, however, few studies about the effectiveness of epiduroscopy for patients without back surgery. We compared the satisfaction of patients who underwent ELND for chronic low back pain and/or radicular pain after back surgery and for the same symptoms without surgery. Methods: We compared the degree of satisfaction of patients after ELND between who had underwent the lumbar spine surgery and who had not retrospectively by chart reviewing. We divided 39 patients who had received ELND into two groups, one is the group of patients who got the lumbar surgery (group 1), and the other is the group of patients who did not (group 2). Their medical records including age, sex, previous treatment, duration of illness, degree of symptom relief were investigated. We compared each items between two groups. Results: The number of patients in group 1 was 17, and group 2 was 22. In group 1, 16 patients (94.1%) showed more than 'Acceptable', and 19 patients (86.4%) showed more than 'Acceptable' in group 2. There is no significant differences statistically in percentage of patients who showed more than 'Acceptable' in the satisfaction after ELND between two groups. Conclusions: ELND provided satisfaction (more than 85%) for patients with chronic low back pain and/or leg pain regardless of previous back surgery history.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.9-17
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• 2013

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of transverse abdominal exercise on the change of chronic low back pain and lumbar muscle strength. Method : 18 chronic lumbago patients were transverse abdominal exercise for 3weeks. Result : 1. The strength of the lumbar extensor and flexor of the male subjects was increased significantly after abdominal exercise(p<0.05). 2. The strength of the lumbar extensor and flexor of the female subjects was increased significantly after abdominal exercise(p<0.05). 3. The study can confirm significant relationship between the lumbar muscle strength and lumbar pain before and after the exercise Conclusion : The study of could find the increase of the ability of the lumbar extensor and flexor of both male and female subjects suffering from chronic low back and pain using three-week transverse abdominal exercise. The study confirmed the general decrease of pain after the experiment.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2018

Background: Sleep disturbance and depression are becoming more recognized as important symptoms among individuals with chronic low back pain. This study evaluated the effect of stabilization exercise on pain-related disability, sleep disturbance and the psychological status of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). Methods: A total of 26 patients (M/F = 17/9) with NSCLBP with a mean age of $50.0{\pm}15.5$ took part in this study. Participants were recruited from selected hospitals in Lagos state. Ethical approval was sought and obtained from the health research and ethics committee of Lagos University Teaching Hospital Idi-araba, Lagos, Nigeria. Participants performed stabilization exercise for eight weeks consecutively and were assessed for pain-related disability, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance using the pain-disability index, hospital anxiety and depression scale, and the insomnia severity index at baseline, the 4th week, and the 8th week, postintervention. Results: The participants studied recorded significant reduction in pain-related disability (P = 0.001). There was also improvement in the sleep quality (P = 0.001), depression level (P = 0.001), and anxiety level (P = 0.001), post intervention. Conclusions: This study revealed that stabilization exercise is very useful in the management of sleep disturbance, pain-related disability, depression, and anxiety in NSCLBP patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.21-27
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• 2020

PURPOSE: This study investigated the efficacy of interferential current (IFC) treatment on the improvement of pain, disability, and balance in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. METHODS: A double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted with 40 patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups: the IFC treatment group (n = 20) and the placebo treatment group (n = 20). The IFC group received 30 minutes of IFC treatment on the lumbar region, while the placebo group received IFC treatment without real electrical stimulation. The intervention was administered five days a week for two weeks. RESULTS: The primary outcomes of resting pain and pain during functional movement were measured by a visual analogue scale. The secondary measurements included the Oswestry disability index (ODI) for low back pain and postural sway. The measurements were performed before and after the two-week intervention period. Compared to the placebo treatment group, the IFC treatment group showed significantly greater improvement in pain during anterior trunk flexion in the standing position (p = .029), ODI (p = .039), and postural sway when subjects stood with their eyes closed (p = .010) at the end of the intervention. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that IFC treatment can improve pain, disability, and postural sway, thus, highlighting the benefits of somatosensory stimulation from IFC.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.7-10
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• 2010

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a distinct disease entity in that its clinical course and response to the treatment are quite different from acute low back pain (ALBP). CLBP is also closely related with systemic or preexisting psychosocial factors rather than focal or localized factors. Since there has been little consensus in practice regarding the proper management of CLBP, clinicians tend to approach and manage patients with CLBP in an empirical manner rather than an evidence-based one. In this article, I will review the difficulties of therapeutic choice in CLBP and provide superior aspects of medical treatment over invasive interventional treatments.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.77-87
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• 2016

Objectives : This is a pilot study for a large randomized controlled trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of a newly developed contrast therapy device-- alternating topical heat and cold -- for patients with chronic low back pain. The main objective of this study is to confirm the feasibility of the study design. Methods : The design was a randomized, 2-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, placebo controlled trial. Patients in each group received real or sham contrast therapy in an acupuncture point 10 times over four weeks. The primary outcome measure was pain intensity on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes were back-related dysfunction based on the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the Roland-Morris disability questionnaire (RMDQ), and range of motion of lumbar spine based on the modified Schober test (mSchober test), Finger-to-Floor distance (FTF distance), and Finger-to-Thigh distraction (FTT distraction). Results : A total of 30 subjects with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to a contrast therapy group (n＝15) or a sham group (n＝15). A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed statistically significant group time interaction for VAS, RMDQ, mSchober test and FTF distance (p<0.05). The treatment group showed significant improvement in pain intensity and functional disability as compared to the sham group. Conclusion : Contrast therapy may be an effective and safe treatment for chronic low back pain.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.338-343
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• 2014

Objective : The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical results of endoscopic radiofrequency ablation of medial branch in patients with chronic low back pain originating from facet joints. Methods : Between October 2010 and December 2013, 52 consecutive patients had suffering from chronic low back pain had undergone endoscopic radiofrequency denervation of medial branch of dorsal ramus. The clinical outcomes of these 52 patients were reviewed retrospectively. Preoperative and postoperative Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Korean version of Oswestry Disability Index (K-ODI), and patients' satisfaction with the procedure were assessed. Results : The pain scores on the VAS for back pain had improved significantly from a preoperative mean of 7.1 to a postoperative mean of 2 at the last follow-up (p<0.001). The clinical outcomes based on the K-ODI had also improved significantly from a preoperative mean of 26.5% to postoperative mean of 7.7% at the last follow-up (p<0.001). 80% of patients were satisfied with the procedure. There were no complications associated with the procedure. Conclusion : Our preliminary results demonstrate that endoscopic radiofrequency denervation of medial branch could be an effective alternative treatment modality for chronic back pain originating from facet joints that provides long-term pain relief.