Analysis of the utilisation of Chuna manual therapy for musculoskeletal disorders after its coverage under national health insurance in Korea: a retrospective analysis.

Objective: To examine trends in Chuna manual therapy utilisation for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) following its inclusion in the National Health Insurance (NHI) system in Korea in 2019 using claims data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA).

Design: Retrospective analysis of NHI claims data.

Setting: Nationwide medical institutions, based on HIRA claims data from April 2019 to December 2021.

Participants: All patients who received at least one Chuna therapy session during the study period.

Primary And Secondary Outcome Measures: Primary outcome: Annual trends in Chuna manual therapy claims.

Secondary Outcome: Patient demographics, therapy frequency, MSD diagnoses and concurrent therapies.

Results: A total of 12 729 625 Chuna therapy claims were analysed, showing a gradual annual increase in utilisation from 2019 to 2021. The most common age group was 45-54 years (22.3%), with female patients comprising a higher proportion (55.8%) than male patients.Low back pain (M54.5), lumbar sprain and strain (S33.5) and cervicalgia (M54.2) were the most common diagnoses. Patients receiving Complex Chuna (50% co-payment) had more treatment sessions than those receiving Simple Chuna or Complex Chuna (80% co-payment), with spinal disorders such as spinal stenosis (M48.0) and intervertebral disc disorders (M51.1, M50.1) associated with higher treatment frequency. Acupuncture was the most common concurrent therapy (97.4%).

Conclusions: This study is the first to comprehensively analyse Chuna therapy utilisation using nationwide NHI claims data. The findings confirm that Chuna therapy is widely used for MSDs, particularly among middle-aged and elderly patients with spinal or muscle-related conditions. Patients with severe or chronic spinal diseases were more likely to receive frequent Chuna therapy sessions. These results provide insights into the utilisation patterns of Chuna therapy and highlight the need for further research to refine reimbursement policies based on disease severity and patient characteristics.