Korean Research Society of Spinal Pain

Greetings. I am Seung Deok Sun, the 4th President of the Spine Pain Research Society.

Our Pain Research Society was launched in 2013 out of the need for research on the various treatment methods for effectively resolving spinal pain. Our founding president, Dr. Dae-Moo Shim, established the historic founding and the framework of the society, and subsequently, former presidents Dong-Ki Ahn and Yong-Ki Choi achieved considerable progress.

Within the Korean Society of Spine Surgery, research and presentations centered mainly on surgical treatment, yet many members had a keen interest in improving pain through non-surgical treatment. At that time, departments other than orthopedic spine surgery tended to attempt and popularize various methods for resolving spinal pain. However, spinal pain treatments lacking academic evidence became indiscriminately widespread, scientific data were insufficient, and the resulting harm was borne entirely by patients. Accordingly, our society was launched to research the academic evidence for non-surgical spinal pain treatment and to take the lead in resolving non-surgical spinal pain going forward.

Through research and presentations, we introduce evidence-based spinal pain treatment and continue the corresponding analysis and research.

Our principal areas of research include studying and learning the causes and mechanisms that give rise to spinal pain and the understanding of those mechanisms, and conducting intensive research on the various treatment methods for spinal pain that are performed although not yet fully established, in order to find sound medical evidence wherever possible.

The representative topics of interest in our Society include trigger point injection (TPI), prolotherapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, manual therapy, exercise therapy, ultrasound-guided injection therapy, C-arm-guided nerve block, neuroplasty, and nucleoplasty. In addition to these various procedures, we also continuously conduct presentations and lectures on pharmacological treatment according to the mechanisms of spinal pain.

We hold regular meetings each year to conduct research and presentations on these various pain-related topics, and above all, we hold case presentations in which each participant candidly shares the practical experiences encountered in clinical practice.

Any member of the Korean Society of Spine Surgery with an interest in the non-surgical treatment of spinal pain may join, and can engage in research, the discussion and presentation of topics, and the exchange of information in this field.

In the present and forthcoming medical reality, patients will increasingly seek improvement of spinal pain through non-surgical methods rather than surgical treatment, and the advancement of medicine and technology will develop to meet these expectations and demands.

Our Spine Pain Research Society will continuously and intensively pursue research, discussion, and presentation in this field, and on this basis will carry on a central and leading role in the resolution of non-surgical spinal pain in the future.

Thank you.

President Seung Deok Sun