Clinical Review of the Effects of Chukyu (spinehealing) Pharmacopuncture in the Treatment of Lumbago and Skelalgia Patients

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to report the effects of Chukyu (spine-healing) pharmacopuncture treatment in patients with lumbago and skelalgia. METHODS This clinical study included 45 patients who were treated for lumbago and skelalgia at the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibusition, Dong-Eui University College of Oriental Medicine, from July 5, 2011, to January 31, 2012. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups: Chukyu (spinehealing)- pharmacopuncture-treated group (experimental group, n = 23) and normal saline-pharmacopuncture-treated group (control group, n = 22). Patients in the experimental group were treated with acupuncture and Chukyu (spine-healing) pharmacopuncture while those in the control group were treated with acupuncture and normal saline pharmacopuncture. To estimate the efficacy of controlling pain, we checked the visual analog scale [VAS], and to estimate the improvement of the symptoms, we evaluated by pain rating scale [PRS] and the Oswestry low-back pain disability index [ODI]. RESULTS A comparison of the experimental and the control groups showed more significant improvements in the VAS, PRS, and ODI for the experimental group than for the control group. CONCLUSIONS Chukyu (spine-healing) pharmacopuncture can be used for effective treatment in patients with lumbago and skelalgia.