A Day in Inpatient Treatment
Table of Contents
Morning — rounds and core procedures
07:30 Wake-up and vital signs check
Nursing staff measure blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse. The previous night's pain changes and sleep quality are briefly recorded.
08:00 Morning herbal medicine
The decoction prescribed by the attending Korean medicine doctor is taken on an empty stomach. In some cases, a pain-targeted prescription (e.g., Dokhwalgisaeng-tang) and a stamina-supporting prescription (e.g., Bojungikgi-tang) are taken at separate times.
09:00 Morning acupuncture + pharmacopuncture
Body acupuncture (cheche-chim, 體鍼) and either bee venom pharmacopuncture or Shinbaro pharmacopuncture are administered to the chief complaint area. The needle retention time (yu-chim, 留鍼) is about 20 minutes, during which infrared (IR) irradiation is applied at the same time.
10:00 Chuna manipulation
Patients who need spinal or joint alignment receive one chuna session per day. The session lasts about 15 minutes.
Afternoon — physical therapy and rehabilitation
12:00 Lunch and post-meal herbal medicine
Herbal medicine is taken 30 minutes after the meal.
13:30 Physical therapy
Interferential current therapy (ICT), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and hot pack are combined for 30 to 40 minutes. Disc patients also receive traction therapy.
15:00 Afternoon acupuncture
A second acupuncture session is performed using a different combination of acupoints from the morning. Electroacupuncture (jeon-chim, 電鍼) is used to induce relaxation of deep muscles.
Evening — stabilization and recovery
18:00 Dinner and post-meal herbal medicine
19:30 Moxibustion (灸) or cupping
Indirect moxibustion (gan-jeop-gu, 間接灸) is performed at Guanyuan (CV4, 關元) and Qihai (CV6, 氣海) to promote whole-body qi-blood circulation. Wet cupping (seup-buhang, 濕拔罐) is performed on areas with severe muscle tension.
21:00 Pre-sleep progress check
The day's pain changes are recorded on the NRS scale and the next day's treatment plan is adjusted.
- Total daily procedures: 2 acupuncture sessions + 1 pharmacopuncture + 1 chuna + 1 to 2 physical therapy + 1 moxibustion/cupping
- Herbal medicine: 3 times per day (empty stomach, after meal, after meal)
- Visiting hours: 14:00–17:00, 19:00–20:30