Review of Studies on Korean Medicine Treatment for Hemifacial Spasm

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean medicine treatment on hemifacial spasm and to suggest future research direction. Methods We used seven electronic databases to find articles on Korean medicine treatment of hemifacial spasm and by analyzing the title, abstract, and main text, articles elucidating on Korean medicine treatment on hemifacial spasms were included. Results A total of 68 articles were searched from seven electronic databases. Excluding duplicate articles and articles that satisfied the exclusion criteria, nine articles were included in this study. Acupuncture was used in nine cases, herbal medicine in five cases, physical therapy in three cases, and cupping therapy in one case. In acupuncture, general acupuncture was used in five cases, pharmacopuncture in three cases, and Meridian tendino-musculature acupuncture and thread-embedding therapy in two cases each. Gamigwibi-tang used in two cases was the most frequently used herbal medicine. In physical therapy, carbone, hot pack, interferential current therapy, and silver spike point were used in two cases each. Conclusions It was confirmed that Korean medicine treatment for hemifacial spasm was attempted in varying methods and nearly all cases included in this study showed improvement. However, because of the low level of evidence due to the nature of these case reports, further studies should be conducted for an objective comparison and analysis on the effect of Korean medicine treatment compared to existing treatments.