Nearly one million people in South Korea alone sought medical care for cervical disc disorders in 2023, resulting in healthcare costs exceeding 363.9 billion won. But what if relief didn’t always require ongoing medication or repeat surgeries?
Integrated Oriental Medicine Offers Hope After Neck Surgery
A new study suggests a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and manual therapy can significantly improve pain and quality of life for patients even after cervical disc surgery.
- Research published in the Journal of Pain Research on January 12th indicates integrated Oriental medicine treatment effectively reduces neck and upper extremity pain following cervical disc surgery.
- The study, conducted from 2015 to 2022, analyzed the medical records of 142 patients across four hospitals.
- Patients experienced notable improvements in pain levels, neck function, and overall quality of life with no reported serious side effects.
- The treatment protocol included acupuncture twice daily, alongside herbal remedies like Shinbaro herbal acupuncture, Hwangryeon Haedoktang, and Angelica root.
Cervical disc herniation occurs when a disc between the bones in the neck bulges or ruptures, compressing nerves and causing pain. Symptoms often extend beyond neck discomfort to include numbness, paralysis, or weakness in the shoulders, arms, and fingers, and can even manifest as headaches, dizziness, or ringing in the ears. Consequently, many individuals opt for surgical intervention.
However, pain can persist even after surgery, prompting researchers to investigate alternative and complementary therapies. A team at Jaseng Hospital of Oriental Medicine’s Spine and Joint Research Institute analyzed the effectiveness of an integrated approach for patients who continued to experience neck pain post-surgery.
From 2015 through 2022, the team retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 142 patients with a history of cervical disc surgery who were hospitalized at four Jaseng Hospitals of Oriental Medicine – located in Gangnam, Bucheon, Daejeon, and Haeundae – due to ongoing neck pain. During their hospital stay, each patient received a comprehensive treatment plan combining acupuncture, herbal medicine, and Chuna therapy, a form of manual therapy.
The results were encouraging. Patients reported a significant decrease in neck pain, with the average pain score on a numeric rating scale (NRS) dropping by 2.09 points, from 5.61 upon admission to 3.52 at discharge. Similarly, radiating pain in the upper extremities decreased by 2.11 points, moving from an average of 5.76 to 3.65.
Improvements weren’t limited to pain relief. The neck dysfunction index (NDI) improved from 40.61 to 31.30, indicating enhanced neck function. Furthermore, the EQ-5D-5L index, used to assess quality of life, increased from 0.68 to 0.75. Importantly, no serious adverse effects related to the integrated Oriental medicine treatment were reported throughout the study period.
“We confirmed that integrated Oriental medicine treatment is an effective and safe treatment for patients after cervical disc surgery in terms of pain relief and functional recovery,” said Bong Se-young, an Oriental medicine doctor involved in the study. “We hope that the results of this study will be used as reference material in the process of discussing management strategies after cervical disc surgery in the future.”
