BackgroundAcupuncture is a relatively safe, commonly used “alternative” medical treatment for various symptoms. However, adverse effects can occur, including trauma, pneumothorax, and central-nervous-system injury. Our objective was to develop a reliable and practical procedure for ultrasound imaging of acupuncture points to improve safety during needling, and to acquire ultrasound images of several (44) acupuncture points, especially those in high-risk areas, according to an in-house standard operating procedure.MethodsWe created the standard operating procedure for ultrasound imaging for acupuncture, and collected ultrasound images of acupuncture points in clinical trials.ResultsUltrasound images for 44 acupuncture points considered as high-risk points were collected from 85 healthy people who were classified by body-mass index, and high-quality, clear representative images of all 44 points were obtained.ConclusionThese baseline images could be helpful for understanding the anatomy under the skin at acupuncture points, which would allow for an enhanced safety and more accurate needling.
Acupoint GB21 (Jianjing) is used for treating back and shoulder pain but is associated with a risk of pneumothorax. We aimed to determine the SND (safe needling depth) at GB21 according to posture and breathing in real time. Ultrasonographic images of GB21 during normal breathing, inspiration, and expiration in a SP (sitting position) were acquired for 52 healthy volunteers. Images were also acquired during normal respiration in the PP (prone position) with arms raised and lowered. The average SND was greater for men than for women (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance revealed that the SND was greater for the PP than for the SP (p = 0.01 and p < 0.05, resp.). Although the SND tended to change according to posture, the average depth tended to deviate widely in some subjects. During breathing, the differences between inspiration and expiration were less than 1 mm in most subjects, but some showed differences more than 4.5 mm. The SND at GB21 was greater in overweight subjects and significantly greater in the PP and during maximal expiration. However, intragroup differences were greater than the intergroup differences. Therefore, it is dangerous to simply apply needling depth on a gender or BMI basis. The practitioner would adjust the SND by examining the individual anatomical structures.
Objectives The purpose of this study is to provide an evidence base for the effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) alone for cervicogenic dizziness. Methods We conducted a search up to October 2018 in 7 electronic databases. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that performed CMT for cervicogenic dizziness were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results Ten RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis of 4 RCTs showed favorable results for the use of CMT alone compared to medication. Conclusions In 10 RCTs, we found that CMT was effective in cervicogenic dizziness. However, most of the included RCTs were unclear risk of bias. Therefore, well designed RCTs would be needed to obtain the stronger evidence level of CMT for cervicogenic dizziness.
The objective of this study was to propose a rehabilitation protocol for total hip replacement in Korean medicine and to report its effectiveness. Three patients who had undergone total hip replacement were treated using the rehabilitation protocol in Korean medicine. We evaluated the outcome evaluating physical examination findings of the hip joint, numeric rating scale, pain disability index, Harris hip score, and walking state. After the treatment, we observed that hip movement and muscular strength improved. Moreover numeric rating scale, pain disability index, Harris hip score, and walking state of patients improved. A rehabilitation in Korean medicine can be effectively used for total hip replacement patients. The limitation of this study was the insufficient number of cases. Further studies are needed to design a rehabilitation protocol in Korean medicine. (J Korean Med Rehabil 2016;26(3):153-164)
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