Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine Demonstrates Cost-Effectiveness of Pharmacopuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain

From a Societal Perspective, Pharmacopuncture Costs About 3.18 Million KRW Less Than Physical Therapy

Pharmacopuncture therapy, which involves injecting the active ingredients of herbal medicine into the site of pain, has been found to be more effective and cost-efficient for patients with chronic low back pain compared to physical therapy.

Yesul Lee, Director of the Spine and Joint Research Institute at Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine. Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine

The research team led by Yesul Lee, Director of the Spine and Joint Research Institute at Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, announced on December 9 that their findings were published in the SCI(E)-level international journal "Integrative Medicine Research" (Impact Factor 3.0).

Chronic low back pain refers to back pain that persists for more than three months. It is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders worldwide and causes significant discomfort in daily life. According to the 2023 Global Burden of Disease Study, low back pain was identified as the leading cause of reduced quality of life among all diseases globally.

Chronic low back pain results in social losses, including the burden of repeated medical expenses and decreased productivity. In particular, as side effects of opioid-based painkillers have recently emerged as a social issue, there has been growing interest in and importance placed on safe and rational treatment methods.

In response, the research team conducted a comparative study on the therapeutic efficacy and cost-effectiveness of pharmacopuncture, a representative Korean medicine treatment for chronic low back pain, versus physical therapy. Pharmacopuncture combines the physical stimulation of acupuncture with the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of herbal medicine, helping not only to relieve pain but also to control inflammation and promote the recovery of damaged tissues.

The study targeted 100 patients with severe chronic low back pain who had suffered from back pain for more than six months and had a pain score of 5 or higher on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS; 0-10). The patients were divided into a pharmacopuncture group and a physical therapy group, receiving a total of 10 treatments, twice a week for five weeks. The physical therapy group underwent standard treatments such as deep heat therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

To analyze the effectiveness of each treatment, the research team used Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY). QALY is a measure that assigns a value of 1 to one year in perfect health, and the calculation in this study used the EQ-5D-5L instrument, which evaluates changes in quality of life across five key health domains, including daily activities and pain. The analysis revealed that after treatment, the QALY for the pharmacopuncture group was 0.372, while that of the physical therapy group was 0.358, indicating that the pharmacopuncture group maintained a higher average quality of life.

The team also examined the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER), which is the additional cost required to gain one extra QALY. Although pharmacopuncture incurred about 270,000 KRW (238 USD) more in medical expenses than physical therapy, it led to a greater improvement in quality of life. The ICER for the pharmacopuncture group was approximately 18.97 million KRW (16,575 USD), which is lower than the national average willingness-to-pay threshold per QALY (about 30.5 million KRW) set by the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency.

From a societal perspective, which includes not only medical expenses but also transportation, time, and productivity loss costs, pharmacopuncture was about 3.18 million KRW (2,781 USD) less expensive than physical therapy, while still yielding higher QALY scores. This demonstrates that pharmacopuncture is a treatment method that improves patients' quality of life while reducing overall costs.

Director Lee stated, "This study confirms that pharmacopuncture therapy for chronic low back pain is not only effective, but can also help reduce social costs such as medical expenses and productivity loss. I hope these findings will serve as a valuable reference for future healthcare policy development."