A Case of Psychogenic Tremor Improved by Complex Korean Medicine Treatment Including <italic>Cheongshimondam-tang-gamibang</italic> and Acupuncture Treatment - A Case Report

Abstract

Objectives: A case study about the effectiveness of integrative Korean medicine treatment in a psychogenic tremor patient.Case presentation: A 36-year-old male diagnosed with psychogenic tremor with low back pain underwent 29 days of inpatient treatment and 4 weeks of outpatient treatment. His pattern identification was a psychogenic tremor of the weakness of the heart and gall bladder (SimDamHeoGup) type. The treatments were herbal medicine and acupuncture. He took Cheongshimondam-tang for 29 days and Chunwangbosim-dan for 6 weeks when he had symptoms. He also received acupuncture for 20 minutes twice a day at GB20 (Pungji), L14 (Hapgok), HT4 (Yeongdo), PC6 (Naegwan), HT7 (Sinmun), GB34 (Yangleungcheon), ST36 (Joksamni), SP6 (Sameumgyo), and LR3 (Taechung). After 8 weeks of treatment, the Fahn Tolosa Marin rating (FTM) scale of his tremor, at rest, dropped from Grade 4 on both upper extremities, trunk, and both lower extremities at the time of admission to Grade 2 in both upper extremities and trunk, and Grade 0 in both lower extremities at the time of discharge. His Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score decreased from 38 to 7, and his numerical rating scale (NRS) decreased from 8 to 1 for low back pain and from 9 to 2 for tremor. A follow-up visit to the hospital 2 months after the end of treatment confirmed continued symptom improvements and no significant side effects.Conclusions: This study suggests the possibility of treating psychogenic tremor using only Korean medicine treatments. Further studies with control groups and long-term follow-up are needed.