Q How does treatment differ when costochondritis becomes chronic? I have been experiencing pain for 6 months and would like to know the direction of treatment.
A Since chronic costochondritis involves adhesions and fibrosis around the cartilage, in-depth treatment is required to separate adhesions using a fine needle and promote tissue regeneration through fire acupuncture and thread embedding. Herbal medicine treatment to improve the patient's constitution is also combined to aim for a recovery without recurrence. Although the treatment period often lasts longer than in the acute phase, definite improvement can be expected through staged treatment.
Detailed Answer
Treatment for chronic costochondritis lasting more than 6 months requires a different strategy than in the acute phase. ① Intensive fine needle treatment: Separates the adhered and fibrotic tissues surrounding the cartilage to eliminate structural causes. Precise access is achieved by confirming the size and location of the lesion using ultrasound. ② Fire acupuncture or thread embedding: Promotes tissue regeneration. Micro-stimulation is applied to areas where fibrosis has progressed to induce collagen reformation. ③ Continuous bee venom acupuncture/pharmacopuncture: Controls residual chronic inflammation. ④ Concurrent Herbal Medicine: Prevents recurrence by resolving blood stasis and improving constitution. ⑤ Concurrent Posture and Exercise Correction: Eliminates structural causes.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
In Korean medicine, chronic conditions lasting more than six months are viewed as a state where blood stasis has settled deep within tissues due to prolonged blockage of Qi and blood circulation. Since standard acupuncture needles alone cannot sufficiently reach deep blood stasis, hardened tissues are physically opened using needle-needle acupuncture, while fire acupuncture and thread embedding facilitate tissue regeneration by stimulating new blood supply. Simultaneously, systemic treatment is administered using constitution-tailored herbal medicine to resolve blood stasis and dampness from within the body, thereby preventing recurrence.
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