Recent Domestic and International Trends on Non-Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Abstract

Objectives The present study examined the recent domestic and international trends of non-surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Methods The studies on non-surgical treatment of LSS were investigated via searching Korean web databases and PubMed. As a result, 39 studies were analyzed according to the authors, the types of study, the relationship to surgical treatment and the method of treatment. Results The first authors' occupations were identified as 17 doctors, 12 Korean medicine doctors, six physiotherapists, three chiropractic doctors and one doctor of science. The most common type of study in Korea was the case report and most of the studies were retrospective. Overseas, there were many prospective or experimental studies including randomized controlled trials (RCT). In Korea, non-surgical treatment was performed independently of surgical treatment in most cases. Among non-surgical treatments, the most researched treatment was traditional Korean medicine (TKM), followed by injection therapy, exercise therapy, and physical therapy. Conclusions Through this review, we can determine the effectiveness of TKM and its research direction. TKM should be studied experimentally including RCT and it should be conducted not only on acupuncture, but also on other treatment methods such as acupotomy, chuna, and herbal medicine. It is also necessary to conduct studies on TKM before and after surgery to compare the effects of surgery and TKM together, as well the effects on non-surgical treatments.