Chief complaint

Low back pain.

Clinical history

In the morning his lower back hurts. Sometimes it lasts 2 days, but lately more. Stress may increase the pain. Sometimes the pain radiates to the right leg at the back. If the muscle warms up it hurts less. Since the pain started he may have more fear of cold. He sleeps little. He works at the computer and is a musician.

Back palpation: contracted muscles in the paravertebrals. The foot is yellow and colder on the outer side.

Pulse: superficial and tense.

Diagnosis

Muscle problem in the lumbar area. Bladder Channel blocked.

Pain located in Tai Yang, painful on palpation (much more BL 39 than 40).

Therapeutic principles

He needs to give his body at least 7 hours of sleep for it to recover and the pain not to return.

Treatment

• Open Tai Yang: SI-3, BL-62
• Activate Du Mai: GV-1 , Du Mai has many connections with Tai Yang and activates the entire spine.

• I look for Qua Sa (blackish color appearing reddish) by scraping with wood (or cupping, or coin, or ...) over the Bladder Channel. There is more on the left side of the back than where it hurts most.

• Eat walnuts, sesame, jujube (Chinese dates, in decoction or cooked with rice) to tonify yin, blood and spleen.

• Recipe: 40 Chinese dates, 1.5 liters water, one cup of rice (rinsed), 100 grams of goji berries (cleaned). Cook until the rice dissolves and becomes porridge. Take one cup a day with walnuts and sesame. In the refrigerator it keeps for 3 days. Tonifies spleen.

Winter is the time to tonify.

NB: if I scrape Du Mai it reduces heat with fever or whatever