“My back locked up yesterday and today I cannot straighten.”
Low back pain after the match
The pain began suddenly after sport and has clearly limited her movement since the previous day.
- Patient
- Woman, 29
- Occupation
- Stocker in a chilled warehouse
- Medication
- Ibuprofen when it hurts. Nothing else.
- Allergies
- None known
- History
- No surgery. No previous back episodes.
- Habits
- Eight-hour shifts on her feet, lifting cold boxes
- Vitals
- BP 110/70 · afebrile
1 · The consultation
You have 16 minutes. Each question or examination costs 2. Choose carefully what to ask.
Questions
Examination
2 · The tongue
3 · The pulse
Describe the pulse on each axis.
4 · The pattern
5 · Differential diagnosis
You're torn between two patterns. Which is it?
Which finding decides it?
6 · Case twist
Patient update“One thing before we start: my period is two weeks late and I have not tested yet.”
Mark the warning signs present:
What do you do?
7 · The treatment
Principle
Strategy
Points (choose 3)
Case solved
Reasoned solution
Pattern: Cold-Damp obstruction. Supporting signs: Sudden onset after cold exposure, Fixed, intense pain that refuses pressure, Stiffness that eases with gentle movement, Worse in the rain, Deep, forceful pulse.
The deciding clue: Refuses pressure: Pressing the area makes it worse; she cannot bear firm massage..
Safety: Correct. You treat, with the selection changed: no low lumbosacral area, no hand point and no crossing of the three leg yin channels. Plenty remains to work with, and she should be told why it changed.
Treatment: Expel cold and damp, Unblock the channel and calm the pain; Moxa over the area, which answers very well to heat, No points contraindicated in pregnancy. Points: BL40, BL60, SI3.
More patients are waiting in the app, with voice, a real timer and a history of your decisions.
See the solution without playing
Pattern: Cold-Damp obstruction. Supporting signs: Sudden onset after cold exposure, Fixed, intense pain that refuses pressure, Stiffness that eases with gentle movement, Worse in the rain, Deep, forceful pulse.
The deciding clue: Refuses pressure: Pressing the area makes it worse; she cannot bear firm massage..
Safety: Correct. You treat, with the selection changed: no low lumbosacral area, no hand point and no crossing of the three leg yin channels. Plenty remains to work with, and she should be told why it changed.
Treatment: Expel cold and damp, Unblock the channel and calm the pain; Moxa over the area, which answers very well to heat, No points contraindicated in pregnancy. Points: BL40, BL60, SI3.
Teaching case. Fictional patient for study purposes. If you have real symptoms, consult a healthcare professional.
