started after she contracted polio at the age of 13. Her left leg became paralysed and the resulting
limp caused the backache. Her knees also ached and her urination was very frequent, also at
night, and pale. She also felt very tired and experienced dizziness and tinnitus. She felt easily
cold. Her tongue was Pale and Swollen and her pulse was Deep, Slow (60) and Weak, especially
on both Rear positions.
Diagnosis This backache was originally due to the paralysis and shortening of one
leg from polio. Subsequently, Kidney-Yang deficiency contributed to its
development.
Treatment principle The treatment principle adopted was to tonify and warm the Kidneys
and strengthen the back.
Acupuncture The main points used were:
BL-23 Shenshu and Du-4 Mingmen to tonify and warm Kidney-Yang.
The points were needled and warmed with a moxa stick.BL-26 Guanyuanshu, Du-3 Yaoyangguan and Shiqizhuixia as local
points to strengthen the lower back. Du-3 was selected because it affects
both the lower back and the legs and it would therefore help her
knee-ache.BL-60 Kunlun was used as a distal point to strengthen the Bladder
channel. This was alternated with BL-57 Chengshan.ST-36 Zusanli, SP-6 sanyinjiao and KI-7 Fuliu, with warming needle,
to tonify and warm Spleen- and Kidney-Yang.Herbal treatment Only a patent remedy was used: the Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan Golden Chest
Kidney-Qi Pill to tonify and warm Kidney-Yang.
This patient's backache disappeared after only a few sessions.
Acupuncture can sometimes give exceptional results in chronic
backache even when there are gross structural imbalances. In this case,
for example, this patient's left leg was over 1" shorter with a resulting
pronounced scoliosis.Sciatica
If the pain radiates down to the leg from the back it indicates a more Full condition, usually due
to Damp-Cold in the leg channels. Occasionally, it may also be due to Damp-Heat. The pain may
also only occur in the leg without affecting the back.
Distal Points