Review of the Studies on the Treatment of Cauda Equina Syndrome Using Korean Medicine

Abstract

Copyright © 2019 The Society of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the use of Korean Medicine for treating cauda equina syndrome. Methods We searched for studies of the use of Korean Medicine for the treatment of cauda equina syndrome in 8 electronic databases and analyzed these studies. Results We found 297 studies on cauda equina syndrome from 8 electronic databases. We excluded 230 duplicate studies, 53 studies that did not involve the use of Korean Medicine and 1 review article. In addition, 13 case studies (13 patients) were included. Acupuncture, herbal medicine (13 times), moxibustion (9 times), pharmacopuncture (8 times), physical therapy (6 times), cupping therapy (5 times), and the bladder stimulation technique (4 times) were used. ST36 for acupuncture, Bojoongikgi-tang as a herbal medicine, CV4 for moxibustion, bee venom as a pharmacopuncture material and BL23 in pharmacopuncture point were the most frequently used. Conclusions Korean Medcine for cauda equina syndrome was effective. However, we found limited evidence regarding Korean Medicine for cauda equina syndrome. Thus, we think various type of studies including much more case reports, for cauda equina syndrome should be performed in the future. (J Korean Med Rehabil 2019;29(2):159-169)