The Effectiveness of Doin (Conduction Exercise) of the Pelvic Joint for HLD With Radiating Leg Pain

The Effectiveness of Doin (Conduction Exercise) of the Pelvic Joint for Herniated Lumbar Disc (HLD) With Radiating Leg Pain: A Prospective Observational Pilot Study

A prospective pilot study will be conducted to investigate the effectiveness and safety in herniated lumbar disc (HLD) patients receiving integrative Korean medicine treatment including Doin (conduction exercise) at a Korean medicine hospital through assessment of pain, functional disability, and quality of life.

A prospective single-center observational pilot study will be conducted to investigate the effectiveness and safety in herniated lumbar disc (HLD) patients with radiating leg pain receiving integrative Korean medicine treatment including Doin (conduction exercise) of the pelvic joint at Daejeon Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine through assessment of pain, functional disability, quality of life, satisfaction, and safety.

The study is expected to be performed over a period of 6 months, during the former 3 months of the study period of which the Integrative Korean medicine treatment group will be recruited, and after a wash-out period of 2 weeks, during the latter 3 months of the study period of which the Doin with integrative Korean medicine will be recruited separately.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Inpatients with radiating leg pain distal to the gluteal fold with or without low back pain (LBP)
• Patients with onset of radiating leg pain occurrence within the last six months, and current pain intensity of numeric rating scale (NRS) ≥5
• Patients with disc protrusion or extrusion at the neural segment level with significant correlations with the radiating leg pain symptoms as identified on L-spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Patients with plans of receiving Korean medicine treatment for herniated lumbar disc (HLD) through hospitalized care
• Patients who give voluntary written informed consent to study participation

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with other systemic diseases that may interfere with treatment effect or outcome interpretation
• Surgery and surgical procedure in the last three weeks in areas of clinical relevance as a result of HLD
• Patients with soft tissue pathologies or pathologies of non-spinal origin that may cause LBP or radiating leg pain (e.g. spinal tumor, rheumatoid arthritis)
• Patients for whom acupuncture treatment may be inappropriate or unsafe (e.g. hemorrhagic diseases, blood clotting disorders, history of anti-coagulation medicine intake, serious diabetes with risk of infection, severe cardiovascular diseases, or other conditions deemed unsuitable for acupuncture treatment)
• Pregnant patients or patients planning pregnancy
• Patients with serious psychological disorders
• Participating in other clinical studies other than observational studies
• Patients unable to fill out study participation consent form
• Subjects deemed unsuitable for study participation as assessed by the researchers