Neck pain and Low back pain due to Bulging Disc!

Here is another interesting case that presented itself to my office about two weeks ago.

Several months ago, I would say last summer, I was coming out of the grocery store and the person parked next to me asked if I was Dr. Horvath. I said yes I was, and this person proceeded to tell me about their health problem. Having neck and low back pain, due to bulging discs, this person had several months of physical therapy and still had no real long term relief. I handed this person my card and told him to call and make an appointment to see what we could do for him.

I didn't hear from this person until two weeks ago, when he called asking about acupuncture for his condition. Finally, this person made an appointment to come in. After getting the patient information and doing a brief examination, I asked the patient to show me where the pain is located in his neck and low back. He began to run his hand along the side of his neck and upper trapezius muscle stating that the neck pain was much greater than the low back pain. Also from the examination, this patient stated that their were issues of anxiety and compulsive disorders. With that information I began to treat the patient. I used a pattern of Shao Yang and Shao Yin. This would be the GallBladder/San Jiao with Kidney/Heart. Why these two channels?

First of all..the location of this person's neck pain followed the GB and SJ channel along the neck and upper part of the arm. Second, I wanted to use Kidney channel because of the history of disc involvement. Since Kidney governs the bones, CNS, discs and supports the low back. Third and most important was Heart. Since heart governs the mind or the Shen. This would be related to his anxiety and OCD. Also the Heart and GB channels will balance nicely just like the Kidney and SJ.

Again after the initial visit the patient reported how the muscle spasms in his neck have greatly reduced. The patient stated that "his shoulders were not up in his ears". He couldn't believe the relief he had recieved after one visit. It never ceases to amaze me the results one can get with acupuncture!

Acupuncture

I am just amazed at the results we are getting in the office from doing acupuncture!! From chronic arthritic knee, hip and shoulder pain to chronic low back, neck and even sciatic pain due to lumbar disk. That's one of the main reason for acupuncture in my clinic. Not to just limit myself to neuroumuscular musculoskeletal problems....but for internal medicine like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Here is an example: I started treating a patient about two weeks ago. This person came in with chronic hip pain for 8-9 YEARS! This person was doing the typical medical procedure which was cortisone shots every few months. Now we all know that cortisone is anti-inflammatory in nature but it is also catabolic! It breaks down the tissue over time. So here is a hip joint that is slowly becoming more arthritic as time goes on. This person was getting tired of the routine, but not only that, the injections were not helping. The patient stated to her MD that she was going to try acupuncture. His response was "Let me know how it works. I have plenty of patients in pain." I used a typical pattern of Shao Yang and Jue Yin channels. After one, I said just one treatment the patients pain was greatly reduced.
The chinese have a saying: Li Gan Jian Ying. This means that when you stick a pole in the ground, you should see a shadow immediately. What this means is this: when acupuncture is done right, results should come quickly. This doesn't mean that the patient is cured, but it does mean you are on the right track and the patient is on the road to recovery. This is done with the least amount of needles possible.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of information. Any questions or comments please feel free to leave them.

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