Effects of Wonli Acupuncture Procedure in Patients with LSS: A Clinical, Retrospective Study

Table 1

Therapy by the STRICTA recommendation [21].

Item	Details
(1) Acupuncture rationale	(1a) Style of acupuncture: Wonli Acupuncture procedure
	(1b) Reasoning for therapy provided, based on historical context, literature sources, and/or consensus methods, with appropriate references: we incised the conglutinated part from the fiberized lesion to promote injury recovery, tissue proliferation, and fortification [18]
	(1c) Extent to which therapy was varied: each patient received acupuncture independently according to his/her symptoms. On the basis of imaging studies and patient symptoms, we determined each spinal disk level and treated points A and B. The number of the therapy points was dependent on the disk level.
(2) Details of needling	(2a) Number of acupuncture needle insertions per subject per session (mean and range where relevant): 4 to 12 per session
	(2b) Names (or location if no standard name) of points used (uni/bilateral): zygapophyseal joint (both sides), the tip of the transverse process (both sides)
	(2c) Depth of insertion, based on a specified unit of measurement or on a particular tissue level: 4~8 cm deep (acupuncture for anatomical structure)
	(2d) Response sought: pain and twinge (nerve stimulation)
	(2e) Needle stimulation: manual
	(2f) Needle retention time: postprocedure removal
	(2g) Needle type: (i) acupuncture needle 1: “Dongbang Dochim,” made by Dongbang acupuncture needle company, 1 mm in diameter, 105 mm in overall length, 80 mm in length of needle, and 25 mm in length of handle and with a flat blade of 5 mm at the tip; (ii) acupuncture needle 2: 2.5 mm in diameter, 145 mm in overall length, 115 mm in length of needle, and 30 mm in length of handle; the tip is a flat blade 11 mm in length; (iii) acupuncture needle 3: a Z-shaped acupuncture needle, 2 mm in diameter, 255 mm in overall length, 150 mm in length of needle, and 105 mm in length of handle, with a blunt and round tip; (iv) acupuncture needle 4: 2 mm in diameter, 170 mm in overall length, 85 mm in length of needle, and 85 mm in length of handle. 15 mm of the needle tip is streamlined and bent at an approximately 20° angle, with blunt and round tip.
(3) Therapy regimen	(3a) Number of therapy sessions: 1 to 4 sessions
	(3b) Frequency and duration of therapy sessions: once (or more for patients who report continued pain).
(4) Other components of therapy	(4a) Details of other interventions administered to the acupuncture group: after Wonli Acupuncture procedure all patients were admitted for 3 days of observation: all patients were administered extracts of Eungyosan 600 mg and Baenongsan 500 mg as herbal anti-inflammatory drugs (3 times a day for 3 days); Eungyosan, made by Kihwabio pharmaceutical company, consists of 10 ingredients, namely, Lonicera japonica Thunberg 710 mg, Forsythia koreana Nakai 710 mg, Mentha arvensis Linne var. piperascens Malinvaud 426 mg, Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq) Nakai 426 mg, Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch 426 mg, Glycine max Merrill 356 mg, Arctii Fructus 356 mg, Lophatherum gracile 284 mg, Schizonepeta tenuifolia var. japonica (Maxim.) Kitag. 284 mg, and Saiga Tataricae Cornu 22 mg; Baenongsan, made by GP pharmaceutical company, consists of 6 ingredients, namely, Citrus aurantium L. 500 mg, Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq) Nakai 670 mg, Paeonia lactiflora Pall. 500 mg, Zingiber officinale Roscoe 170 mg, Zizyphus jujuba var. inermis 500 mg, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis 500 mg
	(4b) Setting and context of therapy, including instructions to practitioners and information and explanations to patients: collection of data before and after the treatment was carried out by the doctor of Korean medicine who made the diagnosis; the treatment was done by a different doctor of Korean medicine in a separate space, on the basis of patient’s medical record and imaging diagnosis.
(5) Practitioner background	(5) Description of participating acupuncturists (qualification or professional affiliation, years in acupuncture practice, and other relevant experience): (i) qualification: acupuncture specialist; (ii) membership: Chairman of Korean Medical Institute of Acupotomy,; Regular Member of the Korean Acupuncture & Moxibustion Society; (iii) relevant training period: 5 years; (iv) clinical experience: 19 years; (v) professional technology for a certain disease: developed Wonli Acupuncture procedure.
(6) Control or comparison interventions	(6a) Rationale for control or comparison intervention in the context of research question, with sources that justify this choice: no comparison group
	(6b) Precise description of the control or comparison interventions; if sham acupuncture or any other type of acupuncture-like control is used, provide details as for items 1 to 3 above: no comparison group.