Comprehensive Treatment of Chronic Pain with Acupuncture: A Case of Kidney Deficiency and Meridian Obstruction

A 35-year-old Asian woman presented with chronic pain in her neck and lower back, stiffness in both shoulders, numbness in the right outer arm, and numbness in the right outer leg. She also reported weakness in her neck. Based on the affected meridians, the primary focus is on the Taiyang and Shaoyang meridians. Although this condition is quite common and not particularly difficult to treat, the patient mentioned that her previous practitioner caused her significant pain during acupuncture, and she felt extremely weak the following day.
Apart from the perspective of meridian differentiation, the patient’s overall condition can also be analyzed through pulse diagnosis. The weak pulse in both Chi positions indicates that the root cause of her pain is kidney deficiency. Her treatment requires tonifying the kidney meridian, while painful needling typically reflects a reducing needling technique, which can deplete Qi and lead to a worsened overall state after treatment.
The slippery pulse in the Guan positions suggests the presence of phlegm, which can obstruct the meridians and contribute to pain and numbness, indicating the need also to consider phlegm resolution. The overall pulse is floating, rapid, and slightly tight, suggesting that the patient has contracted a wind-heat cold with cold characteristics (likely the flu). This has damaged her body fluids and exacerbated the discomfort in her shoulders, neck, and back. When asked if she had recently caught a cold, she said she hadn’t, but she did feel like the early cold symptoms were starting to appear.
With this understanding of the patient’s overall condition, appropriate acupoints and treatment strategies can be selected accordingly.
At the second consultation, the patient brought several of her friends to seek medical help and told me that she no longer felt fatigued after the previous acupuncture session.