[Case study]One lumbar disc herniation with sciatica case

The patient, female, 35+ years old, complained of low back pain and sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation for more than half a year. The pain is mainly in the lower back and the back side of the left leg, and the pain extends to the sole of the foot along the direction of the Taiyang meridian. The pain level was 7/10 with local numbness. Pain has seriously interfered with her sleep, walking, and work. When the patient came to see me, she was faltering, and she dared not exert any force on her left leg. The patient had taken western medicine for treatment (gastritis occurred during the course of taking the medicine as a side effect) and had sought Physio for treatment, but her condition worsened after local massage. She also had many years of history of hypotension. The tongue is a bit red and slim with a thin coating, and the pulse is thin and weak. The bowel movement and urination are normal, the sleep is good, the hands and feet are cold, and the complexion is not good. She has fatigue for a while, and always feels aversion to cold and wind. She has regular menstruation with blood clots and dysmenorrhea.

From the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine, this belongs to deficient low back pain accompanied by blood deficiency and blood stasis. After 12 sessions of acupuncture and about 7 weeks of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, the pain has totally disappeared, and the patient has been able to live a normal life. Her energy has improved significantly, and her low blood pressure for many years has returned to normal after her GP’s examination.

Discuss a few issues here:

First, if we can’t see the deficient side of the patient, all treatments would be wrong. This is why after the massage, the patient’s condition worsens. After the patient took western medicine, the pain released a bit, but the side effect of gastritis appeared. This is because her body was in a low-energy state and cannot afford such kinds of treatments.

Second, the treatment principle of Chinese medicine is to balance Yin and Yang first. The most important thing in our Chinese medicine treatment is to adjust the balance of Yin and Yang and to replenish the patient’s qi and blood. After that, diseases can be easier to get treated. For various diseases, when the patient is in a low-energy state, don’t be in a hurry to treat the symptom. In this case, the patient’s pain was significantly reduced in the early stage of treatment, but the speed to the goal of pain disappearance was still relatively slow. After 7 weeks of treatment, the patient’s qi and blood energy improved significantly, and the rest pain was released rapidly.

Third, traditional Chinese medicine can often kill two birds with one stone. We did not specifically treat the patient’s low blood pressure, but when the problem of blood deficiency was improved, not only the sciatica was cured, but the low blood pressure was also cured. This is why we have repeatedly emphasized that Chinese medicine should not focus on the names of Western medicine to treat diseases, but should adhere to the unique way of thinking and dialectical methods of Chinese medicine, which is the key to the effectiveness of Chinese medicine treatment.

Finally, I quote the words of Mr Zhang Xichun, one famous ancient TCM master, as a concluding remark: “Those who have always treated leg pain and arm pain mostly focus on the causative factor of wind, cold, dampness, blood stasis, qi stagnation, and phlegm, etc. They don’t know that when the whole body has a strong and smooth energy flow(Qi) after adjusting and rebalancing the Yin and Yang, all the situations can be improved quickly… Therefore, for those who suffer from leg pain, and arm pain, and cannot be cured after a long time of adjustment, replenish their energy, and it can recover very quickly even if it is a long-term and complicated problem.