Chronic Pain Case Study

Miraculous Pain Results – Acupuncture, Walking, Diet, and Gua Sha
Patient Status:
A westerner who is 63 years old, social worker, drives 5 hours a day for work, which has caused back pain for almost 10 years. His friend recommended that he try acupuncture for its effective treatments. He emphasized with me repeatedly from the beginning: Firstly, no massage because after pressing the waist, it seems to be more painful. Secondly, he prefers to not take medicine, as he heard that Chinese medicine is very bitter. Even if the taste is adjusted well, he still prefers to not take it. He just wants to try acupuncture.
Dr. Serene Feng’s Consultation:
His body constitution was of vigorous qi and blood. Acupuncture’s main purpose is not the supplement qi and blood; The biggest role of acupuncture is to adjust and balance the unbalanced parts of the body. What is unbalanced? Is it caused by phlegm, or is it congestion, or qi stagnation? His blood is very strong, which can be equated to having food that can be mobilized in war, so then you can take an offensive. Since his body is strong and bloody, so he has food, he can let me use the needle to mobilize to the place to pass through the meridian. He has a lot of fat, a thick tongue and tongue coating, phlegm block, sedentary lumbar spine which has lumbar disc protrusion, so that must be the place that is unblanced, or blocked. While treating with acupuncture to remove phlegm, at the local part of his waist, do acupuncture and “walk” cupping, and then use cupping and gua sha together. “Walk” cupping helps to do local conditioning. The end goal is to remove dampness and make up some kidney qi.
After two visits of treatment, the patient came in stating that they have been miraculous. He did not feel the pain anymore, not even when he is driving. He said that he used to be afraid to move in the car as the waist would be uncomfortable but after his treatment, he tried moving his waist and there was no problem. He stated that it was magical.
So when he came back in the second week, he was very willing to trust us with his treatments. He came back the fourth week for weight loss treatment, and is planning to do more conditioning on his kidney and liver.
Treatment Result:
The patient was given a prescription for food therapy, and he ate foods to primarily nourish his liver and kidney. He has returned almost every week, and has stated that the weight loss results are great as well, and is mainly looking to control his diet, use acupuncture to remove phlegm, and get advice for exercise routines. He is a social worker, and he has been very delighted to share this experience with others.
Treatments vary on a case-by-case basis:
There are many ways to treat lower back pain, and there are different treatments for different cases. Some people can see results in one acupuncture visit, while others would be more responsive to other treatment methods.
Lower back pain can be a result of sitting down for too long, but if ones body constitution is different, such has having deficient qi and blood or a colder body, more treatments would have been needed.
When the pain is prominent, we will treat the pain directly, but once the pain has subdued, we will try to target the cause of the pain. It is important for the patient to be aware of his/her habits and be as his/her own doctor, for this awareness is beneficial for finding the root cause of any pain.
By learning self-conditioning and self-maintenance, the body will be able to improve more efficiently.