Using Chuna to treat musculoskeletal disorders
Kim Me-riong
By Kim Me-riong
A pilot program for Chuna manual medicine designed to get National Health Insurance coverage in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders was reported at the National Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee, Feb. 13.
Chuna may be somewhat unfamiliar compared to staple treatments in Korean Medicine such as acupuncture or herbal medicine, but it is a long-standing division historically originating from the “Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor” which dates back to the Warring States Period (BC 475-BC 221).
The massage therapies introduced have since been developed to better meet current patients' needs, drawing from and accommodating aspects of other manipulation therapies such as Chinese Tuina, osteopathic medicine and chiropractic.
Chuna, consisted of two Chinese characters of “chu,” and “na,” which mean to push and to pull, respectively, usually acts on joints and soft tissue.
Chuna is a type of manual therapy, and Korean Medicine practitioners use their hands to apply gentle corrective force to the spine and joints, restoring balance and healthy movement.
Balance within the body and balance with nature and the universe are some of the key concepts of traditional theory on which Korean medicine has been developed.
Let’s say a patient has a chronic shoulder pain that has been pestering them on and off for years and has been to various healthcare and shoulder specialists and received numerous treatment sessions to not much avail.
While many health conditions are somatic dysfunctions of the immediate area (shoulder), Korean Medicine practitioners sometimes try to analyze whether the shoulder pain is a symptom resulting from a particular lifestyle or a general condition of the body.
Our body is highly sophisticated and complex and generally maintains a good balance through self-healing and self-regulating mechanisms.
The scales, however, can be tipped at times, throwing the body off-balance, and this is where holistic approaches such as Chuna can help.
Shoulder conditions often involve back problems and non-shoulder origins of pain, and whole-body evaluations help identify the root of the problem for more effective and efficient treatment.
Effective Treatment of musculoskeletal disorders is possible when recognizing the importance of the interaction between function and structure more and more, which is not confined to a single structure or organ.
In many cases, a misaligned and dysfunctional back may lead to compensation and asymmetric tightness of muscle, joints and fascia (meridian muscle) and secondary shoulder problems.
Chuna is widely used for musculoskeletal pain, especially low back pain, with a high satisfaction rate in Korea.
The 2017-2018 Chuna pilot program to be funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare was initiated to remedy the situation and promote wider National Health Insurance coverage of Korean Medicine and to meet social demand.
A total of 65 clinics and hospitals are participating in the pilot program and will focus on musculoskeletal applications.
As Chuna is mainly used to treat the spine and joints, the program will cover the following body parts: head, neck, arms, low back and legs.
A government-funded research project on Chuna is also being conducted to assess its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
The pilot study was completed last year, and the full-scale clinical study will be performed this year.
Chuna is set to be reimbursed by the National Health Insurance as of 2018 based on the pilot program and research results.
The writer is a clinical researcher at a spine-specialty Korean medicine hospital in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul.