Short-term Effects of Combined Korean Medicine Treatment Including Acupotomy in a Patient with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Case Report

Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) refers to a condition where patients experience persistent low back pain or radiating pain following spinal surgery.After 8 months of conservative treatments, such as physical therapy and medication, the post-spinal surgery symptoms of a 73-year-old patient persisted.Over 10 days of Korean Medicine treatment, including acupotomy, improvements were observed.The numeric rating scale (NRS) score of the patient's lower back pain decreased from 7 to 3, the radiating pain NRS score from 6 to 3, and the visual analog scale score from 7.0 to 2.6.In addition, the patient's lumbar range of motion of extension and lateral flexion returned to within normal limits.The Oswestry disability index score increased from 55.6% to 20.0%, and the standing balance duration increased from 10 to 20 seconds.These results indicate the potential of acupotomy as a minimally invasive option for FBSS when conventional treatments are ineffective.