A Case Study of Combined Korean Medicine Treatment of Paraplegia Diagnosed as Spinal Cord Infarction

Abstract

Spinal cord infarction is one of the rare strokes with no clear signs of serious nerve damage or after-effects. This study reports on the effectiveness of a combined treatment of Korean medicine and acupuncture on bilateral paraplegia, dysuria, and constipation in a patient with sudden-onset spinal cord infarction. An 84-year-old male patient was diagnosed with spinal cord infarction in August 2022. After diagnosis by whole spine MRI, he received treatment for two months at another hospital, but the improvement was insignificant. He then received Korean medicine treatment, and during this period, his lower extremity manual muscle test grade improved from 3 to 4 and his modified Rivermead mobility index score increased by 13 points, compared with hospitalization. Dysuria improved with acupuncture, and constipation improved with herbal medicine treatment. A combination of herbal medicine and acupuncture can be used to treat paraplegia, dysuria, and constipation caused by spinal cord infarction.