I want to focus on the treatment of lower back pain with acupuncture and moxibustion. This condition is incredibly common. I would have to say that 30-40% of the acupuncture patients I see have some aspect of this condition.
In some cases, it is full-blown lower back pain with chronic sciatica that can be caused by degeneration of the verterbrae. Other times, it may be a collapsed disc, muscular spasm or scar tissue from an injury. There are also patients who have been victims of terrible accidents and who have bolts and metal plates in their back.
Today I want to talk about a unique patient – myself. It all happened in the Virgin terminal in the Los Angeles airport. I sat on a hard chair in the terminal after having a big ten days in the United States attending a workshop. When I got up after eating dinner, something in my back just went on me and I knew I was in trouble – I was unable to move. I did everything I possibly could to reduce the spasm before I got on the plane – but it was a downhill road.
I was incredibly fortunate that I had three vacant seats in the middle of the plane and I was able to juggle my body around to get enough pillows to get myself into a relatively comfortable position for the trip back to the Gold Coast. I was very fortunate to have someone meet me at the airport. Mind you, it was a real art to get my bag off the conveyor belt and get it out of the airport.
Fortunately, when I got home I was able to obtain acupuncture treatment from two people I had trained in Japanese acupuncture – my daughter, Naomi, and my personal assistant, Andrea. To cut a long story short, I went straight to my Gold Coast acupuncture clinic to see my daughter for treatment. At that stage, Naomi had only been studying her degree for 18 months but I basically gave her no option but to give me some acupuncture to help relieve the pain. I was in a lot of pain. Under my instruction and encouragement, Naomi treated my lower back pain and it was such an incredible relief to get the treatment.
I was also able to get moxibustion treatment from Andrea, my long-suffering personal assistant who had been working with me for 18 years at my Gold Coast acupuncture clinic and had become incredibly adept at the process of rice grain moxibustion. Andrea and Naomi have been providing maintenance treatment for me for lower back pain for the last three years since I turned up from Los Angeles pretty well unable to move.
I have great sympathy for anyone who suffers from most of the conditions I see, but particularly from lower back pain.
I’ve suffered from lower back pain and I am also acutely aware of the incredible relief I’ve experienced from judicial use of acupuncture and moxibustion to treat this condition. Whenever I feel my back getting a little squeaky from overwork or overplay (particularly surfing), I will get Andrea to apply some moxibustion to my back and this helps enormously.
So from both a practical personal and patient perspective, I am so enthusiastic about the efficacy of Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of many varieties of lower back pain.
So if you are suffering from any form of lower back pain, please don’t hesitate to visit my acupuncture clinic in Brisbane or the Gold Coast. You will be delighted with the relief that acupuncture can provide for your condition.
