• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.283-290
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• 2018

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of Korean medicine treatments on pain reduction of thoracolumbar compression fracture patients. We analysed 48 patients who have been diagnosed as thoracolumbar compression fracture on Computed Tomography(CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) scan and had admitted to Dunsan Korean Medical hospital from January 1,2014 to April 4, 2017. The analysis was conducted as retrospective study which analyzes patient's medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS statistics 24 program. We used Visual Analog Scale(VAS) and pain reduction scale to evaluate pain reduction of patients. The result showed that there were statistically significant pain reduction on thoracolumbar compression fracture patients treated with korean medicine treatments. In conclusion, we found that the korean medicine treatments showed positive effect on pain reduction of thoracolumbar compression fracture patients.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2009

Objectives : This Study was to investigate the tendency of inpatient with Thoracolumbar Compression Fracture. Also we investigated effectiveness of Pharmacopuncture and Warming Acupuncture on Thoracolumbar Compression Fracture. Methods : We investigated 48 cases of patients with thoracolumbar compression fracture. We distributed inpatint with age, sex, number of injured vertebra, level of injured vertebra, admission duration, grade of clinical symptom, result of treatment and applied treatments. And we calculated statistically signification with this data. Results : 1. Female is prominent in distribution of sex, the average age bracket is 70's, and the largest group was accidental fall in the distribution of causes. 2. In regard to level of injury, T12 was found to be most prominent, followed in turn by L2, L1, T12. In regard to grade of clinical symptoms, Grade III was most Prominent, followed in turn by Grade IV, Grade II. In regard to grade of result of treatment, Good was most prominent. 3. There was not statistically significantly correlation about admission duration and result of treatment with number of injured vertebra, grade of clinical symptom, applied treatments. Conclusions : Most inpatients with thoracolumbar compression fracture was cured by oriental medicine treatment.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.227-236
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• 2001

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate the clinical results of the thoracolumbar fracture patients treated with oriental medical methods. Methods : We reviewed 40 patients of thoracolumbar fracture, who were hospitalized at WonKwang University KwangJu Oriental Medical Hospital and treated by oriental medical methods. We classified thoracolumbar fracture according to three column theory and then analyzed the cause of injury, sex-age distribution, treatment, and etc.. Results : 1. The distribution showed female predominance(72.5%) in sex and 70age-bracket predominance in age. 2. In the distribution of causes, the largest group was "lifting heavy objects"(40%) and the next was "slip down"(37.5%). 3. In the duration of symptoms, the largest group was the group of "acutest" (40%). 4. The distribution of injured level was L1 body the most(20%). 5. In classification of fracture, "compression fracture" was the most(57.5%) and the next was "burst fracture", "unstable fracture" in order. 7. Therapeutic effects above "fair" were 37 cases(92.5%). 8. The higher grade of clinical symptoms is, the lower therapeutic effect is. 9. In the distribution of treatment results according to classification of fracture, both the compression fracture and the burst fracture were almost same high and the unstable fracture is relatively lower than them. Conclusions : The result to treating thoracolumbar fracture by oriental medical methods is satisfactory.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.29-39
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• 2008

Methods : We investigated 28 cases of patients with thoracolumbar compression fracture. We divided patients into two groups : We treated one group with complex oriental medical treatment focusing on Bee Venom Acupuncture therapy, and did the other group with complex oriental medical treatment focusing on acupuncture therapy. To investigate the effectiveness of treatment applied for two groups, we used Visual Analog Scale(VAS) and Oswestry Low-back Pain Disability Index(ODI). We compared the VAS score and ODI score of two groups statistically. Results : 1. Female is prominent in distribution of sex, the average age bracket is 70's, and the largest group was Faccidental fall in the distribution of cause. 2. In regard to level of injury, T12 was found to be most prominent, followed in turn by L1, L2. In regard to grade of clinical symptoms, Grade III was most prominent, followed by Grade IV, Grade II. 3. As a result of evaluation by using VAS score and ODI score, treatment score at final was significantly different from that at the baseline in each group. 4. After treatment, Bee Venom acupuncture therapy group showed significant difference on VAS score and ODI score compared with acupuncture therapy group. Conclusions : Bee Venom acupuncture therapy can be available for relieving symptoms related with thoracolumbar compression fracture.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.944-949
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• 2021

Objective : The stability is an important factor to decide the treatment plan in thoracolumbar burst fracture patients. Patients with an unstable burst fracture generally need operative management. Decrease in vertebral body height, local kyphosis, involvement of posterior column, and/or canal compromise are considered important factors to determine the treatment plan. On the other hand, in thoracolumbar injury classification system (TLICS), surgery is recommended in patients with TLICS of more than 5 points. The purpose of this study was to apply the TLICS score in patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures and to distinguish the differences of treatment plan on burst fracture. Methods : All patients, diagnosed as a thoracolumbar burst fracture between January 2006 and February 2019 were included in this study. Unstable thoracolumbar burst fracture was defined as burst fracture with neurologic deficit, three-column injury, kyphosis over 30 degrees, decrease of anterior body height over 40 percent and canal comprise more than 50%. TLICS score was measured with morphology, neurological involvement and posterior ligamentous complex integrity. The existence of instability was compared with TLICS score. Results : Total 233 patients (131 men, 102 women) were included in this study. In Denis classification, 51 patients (21.9%) diagnosed as stable burst fracture while 182 patients (78.1%) had unstable burst fracture. According to TLICS, 72 patients (30.9%) scored less than 4, while 161 patients (69.1%) scored 4 or more. All the patients with stable burst fracture scored 2 in TLICS. Twenty-one patients (9.0) scored 2 in TLICS but diagnosed as unstable burst fracture. Thirteen patients had over 40% of vertebra body compression, four patients had more than 50% of canal compromise, three patients had both body compression over 40% and kyphosis over 30 degrees, one patients had both body compression and canal compromise. Fifteen patients presented kyphosis over 30 degrees, and three (20%) of them scored 2 in TLICS. Seventy-three patients presented vertebral body compression over 40% and 17 (23.3%) of them scored 2 in TLICS. Fifty-three patients presented spinal canal compromise more than 50%, and five (9.4%) of them scored 2 in TLICS. Conclusion : Although the instability of thoracolumbar burst fracture was regarded as a critical factor for operability, therapeutic strategies by TLICS do not exactly match with the concept of instability. According to the concept of TLICS, it should be reconsidered whether the unstable burst fracture truly unstable to do operation.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.35-48
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• 2002

Objective : The study was performed to evaluate the effect of treatment for thoracolumbar compression fracture by using Bee Venom Acupuncture that is well known for anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. Methods : We investigated 39 cases of patient with thoracolumbar compression fracture. The patients with thoracolumbar compression fracture were treated at the department of acupuncture & moxibustion of Kyung-Won University Oriental Hospital from 1st January 2001 to 30th August 2002. We selected for two groups. One group was treated by Bee Venom Acupuncture therapy(Bee Venom Acupuncture Group : BAG), the other group was treated by Filiform Acupuncture therapy(None Bee Venom Acupuncture Group : NBAG). Results : 1. The distribution showed female predominance in sex and 70's predominance in age. The largest group was "accidental fall" and the next was "lifting heavy objects" in causes, and within 2 weeks in the duration of disease 2. In the duration of admission, the largest group was within 4 weeks. In regard to level of injury, T12 was found to be most predominant, followed in turn by L1, L2, L5. In regard to grade of clinical symptoms, Grade III was most predominant, followed by Grade II, Grade IV. 3. In the results of treatment, 87.5% were above "Good" in BAG and 47.8% in NBAG. 4. In the result of treatment due to the grade of clinical symptoms, BAG was more excellent than NBAG on the whols grade. 5. In the result of treatment due to duration of admission, the duration of admission was not in proportion to the results of treatment. 6. In the change of lumber flexion, the improvement above $80^{\circ}$ was 50% in BAG and 21.7% in NBAG 7. In the stability of treatment, the BAG and NBAG did't show any detrimental change in GOT, GPT, r-GTP, BUN, creatinine. Conclusions : In the treatment of thoracolumbar compression fracture, the Bee Venom Acupuncture can be regarded as more effective treatment than Filiform Acupuncture in the clinical practice. This is expected to be available for clinical use.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.55-67
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• 2001

Objective : This study was performed to evaluate result of thoracolumbar compression fracture patient treated with Hua-Tuo-Jia-Ji-Xue(華佗夾脊穴) acupuncture. Methods : This clinical study was carried out 50 cases with thoracolumbar compression fracture, who had been admitted from January, 2000 to February, 2001, in the department of acupuncture and moxibustion, Hanseo University Oriental Medical Hospital. We divided two groups; A group, without using Hua-Tuo-Jia-Ji-Xue(華佗夾脊穴) acupuncture and the other group is B group, by using Hua-Tuo-Jia-Ji-Xue(華佗夾脊穴) acupuncture. Results : 1. The distribution of sex and age, 78% were female, and 84% were most above there sixties. 2. In the duration of symptom, the largest group was over 4 weeks. 3. In the distribution of cause, the largest group was "lifting heavy object"(32%) and the next was "slip down"(26%). 4. In the distribution of injured level was L1 body the most(19.6%) and T12 body was the next. 5. In the distribution of clinical symptoms on the admission, the largest group was lumbosacral pain(18%). 6. The result of treatment due to the duration of admission, 17case(34%) was the most above "Fair" during the 2~3 weeks. 7. The result of treatment, Good and Fair were the same in 24case(48%). 8. The duration of treatment was longer in high grade of clinical symptom. 9. B group discharged above good state 60% higher than A group.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.147-156
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• 2015

Objectives : This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Korean medicine for a thoracolumbar compression fracture. Methods : We searched six Korean databases (DBPIA, Korean Studies Information Service System, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, National Digital Science Library, Research Information Sharing Service, KoreaMed) (up to June 2015) and the Journal of Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion Society. Unpublished studies were also searched. Clinical research, other than case reports involving less than 10 patients, were eligible. The effectiveness and safety of Korean Medicine was analyzed. The 'Risk of Bias' was assessed using the 'Risk of Bias' assessment tool for non-randomized studies as well as the Cochrane Collaboration's 'Risk of Bias' tool. Results : We found 12 before-after studies (374 patients). There was no randomized trial. All studies combined at least three different types of Korean medicine treatments. The period of treatment varied between less a week and 154 days. All the included studies reported improvements in pain, functional disability related to lower back pain, global assessment, and benefits in the compression ratio of a fractured vertebrae and skin temperature measured by digital infrared thermal imaging in comparison with the baseline. However, all studies had a high risk of bias and three studies reported mild adverse events. Conclusions : There is no randomized trial for the role of Korean medicine for patients with a thoracolumbar compression fracture. The effectiveness and safety of Korean medicine for this population remains unclear. Findings in this review are seriously biased due to observational design and a high risk of bias included in the studies. Future high-quality randomized trials are warranted.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2005

Purpose: We evaluate the characteristics of vertebral body fractures in two level flexion-distraction injuries of the thoracolumbar spine Methods: The findings of radiographs, computed tomographs, and MRIs of 43 patients with flexion-distraction injuries combined with vertebral body fractures were retrospectively evaluated. We divided the patients with bursting fractures into two groups, the distractive group (posterior vertebral height ratio >1) and the compressive group (vertebral height ratio <1). Results: There were 23 compression fractures and 20 bursting fractures. In bursting fractures, the distractive group had 5 cases, and the compressive group 15 cases. In 24 cases (55.8%), the interspinous distances were widened. The average of the canal encroachment was 4% in the distractive group and 40% in the compressive group. At last follow-up, the average loss of correction was 2.0 degree in compression fractures and 2.7 degree in bursting fractures. Conclusion: The configurations of vertebral body fractures in flexion-distraction injuries of the thoracolumbar spine were varied as to the location of the axis of flexion. Because bursting fractures in flexion-distraction injuries had distractive or compressive features, one should consider that in establishing operative plan.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2007

Objective : The current literature implies that the use of short-segment pedicle screw fixation for spinal fractures is dangerous and inappropriate because of its high failure rate, but favorable results have been reported. The purpose of this study is to report the short term results of thoracolumbar burst and compression fractures treated with short-segment pedicle instrumentation. Methods : A retrospective review of all surgically managed thoracolumbar fractures during six years were performed. The 19 surgically managed patients were instrumented by the short-segment technique. Patients' charts, operation notes, preoperative and postoperative radiographs (sagittal index, sagittal plane kyphosis, anterior body compression, vertebral kyphosis, regional kyphosis), computed tomography scans, neurological findings (Frankel functional classification), and follow-up records up to 12-month follow-up were reviewed. Results : No patients showed an increase in neurological deficit. A statistically significant difference existed between the patients preoperative, postoperative and follow-up sagittal index, sagittal plane kyphosis, anterior body compression, vertebral kyphosis and regional kyphosis. One screw pullout resulted in kyphotic angulation, one screw was misplaced and one patient suffered angulation of the proximal segment on follow-up, but these findings were not related to the radiographic findings. Significant bending of screws or hardware breakage were not encountered. Conclusion : Although long term follow-up evaluation needs to verified, the short term follow-up results suggest a favorable outcome for short-segment instrumentation. When applied to patients with isolated spinal fractures who were cooperative with 3-4 months of spinal bracing, short-segment pedicle screw fixation using the posterior approach seems to provide satisfactory result.