Research Article Nonoperative Korean Medicine Combination Therapy for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Retrospective Case-Series Study

Copyright © 2015 Kiok Kim et al.This is an open access article distributed under theCreativeCommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This is a retrospective case series exploring the therapeutic benefits and harm of nonoperative Korean medicine combination therapy for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).Themedical records of a total of 33 LSS patients, whowere treated as inpatients atMokhuri Neck and Back Hospital, Republic of Korea, from November 2010 to January 2012, were reviewed first and telephone survey on these patients was conducted after one year. Body acupuncture, pharmacoacupuncture, Chuna, and oral administration of herbal medicines were offered to all patients. A Visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain and the walking duration without pain were used to assess the patients during the approximately 1-month treatment period. The average VAS score of pain and the walking duration improved significantly; the VAS score decreased from 9 (SD, 1.15) to 2.75 (2.22)