Effectiveness of Integrative Korean Medicine Treatment in Patients with Traffic-Accident-Induced Acute Low Back Pain and Mild Adult Scoliosis

Abstract

We investigated the effectiveness of integrative Korean medicine treatment in patients with pre-existing scoliosis who received inpatient care for traffic-accident-induced acute LBP. We selected 674 patients diagnosed with scoliosis between 1 January 2015, and 30 June 2021, using lumbar spine (L-spine) imaging, across four Korean medicine hospitals in Korea for a retrospective chart review and sent them a questionnaire-based follow-up survey. The primary outcome was a numeric rating scale (NRS) score of LBP. The secondary outcomes were the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), 5-level EuroQol 5-dimension (EQ-5D-5L), and patient global impression of change (PGIC) scores. In total, 101 patients responded to the follow-up survey. NRS scores decreased from 4.86 (4.71–5.02) to 3.53 (3.17–3.90) from admission to discharge, subsequently decreasing to 3.01 (2.64–3.38) (p < 0.001) at the last follow-up. Similarly, ODI scores decreased from 35.96 (33.08–38.85) to 22.73 (20.23–25.24) and 14.21 (11.74–16.67) (p < 0.001), respectively. Approximately 87.1% of patients were satisfied with their inpatient care. There were no significant differences in the degree of improvement according to the severity of scoliosis. Integrative Korean medicine treatment can improve pain, lumbar dysfunction, and quality of life in patients with traffic-accident-induced acute low back pain and pre-existing mild scoliosis.