Back Pain

Case1

A 46 year old woman suffering from chronic back pain came to the center describing a strong discomfort in her hip.  She also had had an abnormally heavy menstrual flow. Western doctors connected it with premenopausal signs. She was told to take Advil regularly to alleviate hip soreness. Within the first month of acupuncture treatment, she encountered normal menstrual flows, and after a few weeks the discomfort in her hip was gone.

During the course of her acupuncture treatment she injured her mid-back in an attempt to open her frozen car door. She described the pain as “excruciating” and movements in her torso and arm were almost impossible.  After the first acupuncture treatment of the middle back, she felt relief for a few hours but the pain returned spreading to the rib cage area.  After the 2nd acupuncture treatment, she was showing better range of motion and mobility and regular tasks could be done with less discomfort. With 2 more treatments of acupuncture, her mid-back returned to normal and her chiropractor even commented that her back muscles felt looser and her whole spine was healthier.

Case2

A 47 year old male, who was diabetic and overweight, came into HolliBalance experiencing chronic back pain, which had been induced from 20 years of bad posture and lack of exercise.  He also had sleep apnea, sinus congestion, and he snored heavily.  The night after his first acupuncture treatment, his wife was astonished that his snoring was completely gone.  He described his sinuses as never having been so clear and open before.  At his third visit to HolliBalance, he complained of severe back pain that had developed two days earlier, debilitating him from his work.  He was given acupuncture treatment and Dr. Song led him through unique back exercises/stretches.  After 20 minutes, he could walk easily, and with very minor discomfort. 

Case3

An athletic 46 year old male tennis player had never had a back injury before. One day he woke up feeling stiffness in his lower back.  For the next 2 weeks he was unable to play tennis and had developed mild depression from the situation.  He then began experiencing muscle spasms and stiffness in his thigh, and he took Motrin daily to cope with the pain. He decided to seek acupuncture treatment at HolliBalance Well-being Center.  Moments after he got up from the treatment table he felt a wider range of motion in his lower back. A week afterwards, he did not have any morning stiffness and was once again able to play tennis without feeling any back strain. He returned for one more treatment. During the second treatment he explained to Dr. Song that he had a habit of alternating between hot and cold showers, a knack that his father suggested for improving the immune system. It turned out that this habit tightened his back muscles, which explained his susceptibility to injury and muscle spasms.  Dr. Song pointed this out to him.  He now no longer experiences back problems.

Case4

A 60-year-old male has been having chronic lower back pain for the past 25 years.  He was diagnosed with degenerative disks and arthritis in the lumbar vertebrae.  Every time he has to sit for a long period of time, for example, driving 4 hours from Boston to New York to see his daughter, he would suffer.  His back pain would last for up to two months after the trip.  Two weeks before coming to HolliBalance, he developed severe lower back pain and a muscle cramp.  He was experiencing sharp shooting pain in the left lower back while turning or bending the torso.  In one week he was taking another trip to New York and he was worried. 

He wanted to try acupuncture to see whether it could get him through the week and the long trip.  At the end of the very first acupuncture treatment, he could turn the torso without feeling any sharp pain!  Dr. Song taught him simple effective back exercises to help loosen the back muscles and reduce the pressure on the lumbar disks.  To further assist his pain reduction he was given pain reducing healing patches.  The acute severe back cramp, that he had just developed two weeks prior to his first visit, was completely gone after the first acupuncture treatment.  After two more acupuncture treatment, he could go on the trip to New York without stressing his back out.  This time he did not need to spend two weeks in bed recovering from the long drive.  With acupuncture treatment once a week for another three weeks, he was able to do yard work and lifting without feeling back soreness.  He has been doing a lot of physical work lately and only needs to come every two to four weeks to continue to live a back pain free life.

Along with back pain he has some problems swallowing and frequent urination.  His frequent urination is from an enlarged prostate problem.  He goes to the bathroom 2 to 3 times every night and many times during the day.  After acupuncture, his frequent urination has improved, so he doesn’t need to go to the bathroom as often and can sleep through the whole night.  He has trouble swallowing sometimes and feels things are stuck in his esophagus.  Many times he feels pressure and pain in the esophagus.  Western medicine believes that he either has acid reflux or that the valve from the stomach and esophagus does not work well.  He went through a surgical procedure to have this valve fixed. His procedure was scheduled after he had already had three acupuncture treatments.  He noticed that his chest pain was gone before he even had the procedure.  He stopped feeling most of the pain and choking sensation after acupuncture.  He had hoped that the surgical procedure would improve his condition even more; however, the surgery did not help.