Chronic Low Back Pain

Although the recurrence rate of low back pain within one year is reported to be as high as 30–70%, this is mostly because treatment is stopped once the pain disappears. Even without pain, multifidus muscle atrophy and motor control abnormalities persist for several more months, and this gap becomes fertile ground for recurrence. Exercise therapy, including core stabilization exercises, is the most well-proven method for preventing recurrence. For physically demanding jobs such as nursing care that involve lifting patients, movement correction and the use of assistive devices must go hand in hand. From the Perspective of a Korean Medicine Clinic: Korean medicine interprets recurrence as a state where the body's resistance has not been restored—that is, a state lacking the foundation to withstand external stimuli. Even if the branch of pain is pruned, if the root of kidney deficiency and the soil of blood stasis and dampness remain, it will grow back all at once due to overwork. In particular, for those who continuously deplete kidney energy and vital energy through caregiving labor, treatment without reinforcement is likely to become a mere stopgap measure. Dongjedang's treatment structure involves clearing blockages with acupuncture, moxibustion, and pharmacopuncture during the painful phase; once the pain subsides, strengthening ligaments with thread embedding to create structural support; and finally, finishing with constitution-tailored herbal medicine that empties accumulated blood stasis and dampness to replenish the energy of the liver and kidneys. This is because it is believed that a state free from recurrence can only be achieved by restoring both Qi and blood circulation and organ functions, rather than merely addressing local symptoms.