MAIN COMPLAINT

A 23-year-old woman has lower back pain at the lateral side of the sacrum, on
the left side, at the L5/S1 joint. She moved boxes at work and heard her back
pop a little bit. Since then, this was five days ago, she has had pain when
walking and lifting. I treated her right side back pain two years ago and her
back has not hurt since then. Today it is her left side.

MERIDIAN INVOLVED / THEORY

DU, KD and BL
Inflammation and irritation of L5/S1 joint and sacrum.

TREATMENT POINTS

1010.25

Right side 33.12

11.11
11.12

22.05
22.06
22.07
Left side BL 65
BL 62
BL 60

Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015
OUTCOME
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Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015
I inserted the first needle at 1010.25 while we were talking about her back. When she
was finished talking, I asked her how her back was now. She said the pain was gone. I
had her relax on the treatment table, and inserted the remaining needles. Even
though we had results with a one-needle treatment, it is still necessary to do a full
treatment, to cover all our bases, roots, and branches.

COMMENTS

This is a very quick and easy case. Since she has only had the pain for five days, one
treatment will resolve it. Her pain was moderate, 6/10 on VAS scale. If it had been
horrible pain, she might have needed two to three treatments.

I chose 1010.25 as my main treatment point because most of her pain was on the
bone, on the Du channel. At least the root of her pain was the Du channel, at L5/S1. I
also like 1010.25 because we are activating the bone by tapping the external occipital
protuberance. This helps the bone issues in her lower back.

I could have stopped with the first needle. However, this patient is a waitress, with
very little extra money to get treatment. I needed to make sure her pain was
completely gone, unless she injures herself again, so I added the extra points.

I chose 11.11 and 11.12 because it is an acute issue. Normally in Tung acupuncture,
the 11.00 points are used for acute problems. The middle finger represents the torso.
The back of the middle finger represents the spine. I added in the Dao Ma by Dr.
Maher, BL 60, BL 62, and BL 65 to cover the BL channel back pain, and the low back
issues. The BL channel will fix the BL and KD. The foot images the low back.

Point 33.12 is a great point for coccyx pain. The image is the whole torso on half the
arm, and via the twelve segments, the elbow is the lower back. The SI channel will
also treat the BL channel.

Points 22.06 and 22.07 are much like San Cha San. They are close to TW 3 and TW 4.
They are both indicated for back pain, and the TW channel treats the KD channel.
The hand images the lower back. The wrist is L5/S1.

You should expect to see these types of outcomes on a very consistent basis if
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patients come to get acupuncture soon after the pain starts. Once the patient has had
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the pain for six months to several years, it will take longer for a full recovery. You
Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt
Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015
should still expect an 85-100% pain reduction during the treatment. The pain relief
should last from one to seven days after the treatment. Patient recovery is much
faster when acupuncture is used for preventative and recent diseases. Emergency and
trauma medicine are best suited for Western medicine.

This case illustrates how treatment should reduce the pain, but it will come back. The
pain should be reduced in intensity with every treatment. Eventually, the pain will
not come back at all. You should try to treat your patients once or twice a week. Some
acupuncturists treat patients three times a week. You can do this, but in my clinic, I
treat twice a week for two weeks. I then re-evaluate the patient to determine further
treatment needs. I tell my patients that if their pain does not return within ten days,
it will not come back. They are healed.

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Pain Case Studies with Distal Acupuncture Book Excerpt

Brad Whisnant and Deborah Bleecker
Copyright 2015