Case Study Of Treatment For Low Back Pain And Sciatica

Complaints: He woke up most mornings with stiffness for 30 minutes in the lumbar. It was easily aggravated with walking, standing, and bending due to irregular position of the pelvis. Sciatica in both sides often accompanied the pain. MRI did not show anything remarkable.

Acupuncture: Left-side yin horary points in Wood-Order of LR1, HT8, SP3, LU8, and KD10 with fire points LU10, LR2, KD2, and SP2 because his constitution is a Greater Yin and Lesser Yang combination (aka Pitta in Ayurveda, Choleric in Unani, Taeumin in Sasang, and GinLang in Tetrasoma). This constitution has an excessive wood, fire, earth and a deficient metal, water.

Treatment process: He had 117 treatments in 8 years. After the first treatment, he had an immediate reduction of pain by 2/3.

Discussion: After a series of 5 to 8 treatments, the pain was in remission for several months. It recurred because of the congenitally tilted pelvis. Of all the therapies he received in the past, acupuncture was the most effective. In addition, he had higher sense of well-being after every visit. Therefore, acupuncture is worth having as a lifestyle.