Korean acupuncture, herbal medications may provide long-term relief to patients with cervical myelopathy

Photo Cred: Ryutaro Tsukata/Pexels

By Kat Black, Kat Black

Cervical myelopathy (CM) – also known as cervical spondylotic myelopathy – is a progressive spinal condition that is estimated to affect up to five percent of adults aged 40 and older. Spinal decompression surgery is a standard first-line treatment for the disease, which is caused by compression of the cervical spinal cord and can result in debilitating symptoms such as numbness of the limbs, loss of balance, bladder issues, clumsiness, and neck pain. 

A study published last month in Journal of Pain Research provides promising new data about a viable non-invasive treatment alternative for CM patients: Korean medicine. Researchers analyzed the electronic medical records of and conducted follow-up surveys on CM patients with neurological symptoms who were admitted to Korean medicine hospitals between January 2011 and January 2018. Ninety-six percent of patients reported improvement in their CM symptoms following the application of integrative Korean medicine modalities such as acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medications, and Chuna, a form of Korean spinal manipulation.  

Lauren Kim, LAc, an acupuncturist at the Jaseng Integrative Medicine Center in Fullerton, Calif., uses a combination of herbal medications and acupuncture to treat her patients with spinal conditions. She said that according to research published by the Jaseng Spine and Joint Research Institute, 95 percent of Jaseng patients with spinal disorders experienced symptom relief after receiving non-surgical Korean medicine interventions. She frequently sees improvement in her patients after just a three-month course of treatment, which can delay or eliminate the need for spinal surgery. “It’s most effective for people who have mild to moderate symptoms,” she said.  

Acupuncture and herbal medications 

Sharon Sherman, MS, L.OM., founder of Empirical Point Acupuncture in Philadelphia, Pa., is a practitioner of the Korean Saam acupuncture technique and noted that the acupuncture protocol described in the study – “administered using mainly proximal acupuncture points and Ah-shi points [pain sensitive acupoints]” – is a successful strategy for her own patients.   

“I generally start with releasing musculature in the paraspinal muscles (erector spinae) for back pain and the sternocleidomastoid and scalenes for neck pain,” she explained, describing her treatment protocol. “I find that creating some slack and reducing hypertonicity in these muscles takes some of the pressure off the spine and discs. This is similar to the article when they refer to ‘Ah-shi points.’ Depending on the tension I may also use sliding cups or manual work to further open the fascia and restore some suppleness.”

According to the study, “Acupuncture is reported to improve spinal cord injury by inhibiting the Notch signaling pathway and stimulating endogenous neural stem cell proliferation.” Another unique benefit of acupuncture, said Kim, is that it helps people with chronic CM to understand their limitations and learn to intuitively manage their pain on a long-term basis. Though short-term solutions like epidurals and cortisone shots may be effective, she said that patients may run the risk of straining their bodies or inflicting further structural damage by masking rather than treating the source of the pain.

“When you’re doing acupuncture, you see a little bit of a decrease of pain and an increase of functional ability,” she said. “But you’re not coming from a ’10’ pain level to a ‘1’ or ‘2’ right away. It’s gradual, like a staircase. Then their whole body adapts to that pain level and then they know what to do, how not to overuse it.”

Herbal medications

In the study, patients received “a water-based decoction (120 mL) and dried powder (2 g) Ostericum koreanum, Eucommia ulmoides, Acanthopanax sessiliflorus, Achyranthes japonica, Psoralea corylifolia, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Cibotium barometz, Lycium chinense, Boschniakia rossica, Cuscuta chinensis, Glycine max, Atractylodes japonica.” Kim said that she uses the same formula to treat her CM patients.  

“The herbs prescribed [in the study] fall into a couple of treatment buckets,” explained Sherman. “One bucket is herbs that support the bones and tissues. These herbs are common in trauma formulas as well as aging formulas for arthritis and general aches and pains. The second category of herbs are tonic herbs. These herbs support and supplement the body against inflammation and wear and tear.”

She added that she prefers to use both acupuncture and herbs in her treatment protocols. “Herbal medicine is also another potent strategy for restoring function and ease. I find that the manual tissue work in addition to the herbs yields superior results.”