symptoms and signs included night-sweating, depression, a dry mouth at night, insomnia
(waking up frequently during the night) and a Red tongue generally without coating except for a
sticky-yellow coating on the root.
Diagnosis This is a very clear case of backache from deficiency of Kidney-Yin as
all the other manifestations show. There was also some Damp-Heat in
the Lower Burner as evidenced by the sticky-yellow coating on the root
of the tongue. This would play a part in the pathogenesis of his
backache.
Treatment principle The treatment principle was to nourish Kidney-Yin and strengthen the
back.
Acupuncture The main points used were:
KI-3 Taixi, KI-6 Zhaohai and Ren-4 Guanyuan to nourish Kidney-Yin.BL-23 Shenshu to strengthen the back.BL-26 Guanyuanshu and Shiqizhuixia as local points according to
tenderness.S.I.-3 and BL-62 to open the Governing Vessel, tonify the Kidneys,
strengthen the back, boost the Will-Power and lift depression.Du-20 Baihui, in combination with the opening points of the Governing
Vessel to boost Will-Power and lift depression. It also acts as a distal
point for lower backache when the ache stems from the midline.Herbal treatment Only a patent remedy was used: this was the Zhi Bo Ba Wei Wan
Anemarrhena-Phellodendron Eight-Ingredient Pill to nourish
Kidney-Yin and drain Damp-Heat from the Lower Burner. This pill is
particularly good for lower backache against a background of
Kidney-Yin deficiency since Huang Bo Cortex Phellodendri and Zhi
Mu Radix Anemarrhenae asphodeloidis will act on the Lower Burner
and the Bladder channel, thus relieving backache.
The backache was the first symptom to react to the treatment improving
by 90% after a few sessions. All the other symptoms improved only
gradually over a period of several months as Yin deficiency can only be
supplemented slowly.Case History 24.4
Lower Backache: Kidney-Yang Deficiency-Female, Age 63
A 63-year-old woman had been suffering from lower backache for most of her life. This had