Lower Back Pain

The treatment of lower back pain with Chinese medicine is based on the underlying pattern of disharmony. The most common patterns associated with lower back pain are:

1. Kidney yang deficiency: This pattern is characterized by chronic, dull, aching low back pain that is worse with cold weather or exposure and better with warmth. It is often accompanied by cold hands and feet, impotence or infertility, urinary frequency, and a tendency to catch colds and flus easily.

2. Kidney yin deficiency: This pattern is characterized by chronic, dull, aching low back pain that is worse with heat and exertion and better with rest and cold applications. It is often accompanied by night sweats, dry mouth and throat, irritability, and dizziness.

3. Liver qi constraint: This pattern is characterized by acute, sharp, stabbing low back pain that is worse with emotional stress and better with rest and pressure. It is often accompanied by irritability, anger, headaches, and a feeling of fullness or distention in the chest and rib cage.

4. Damp-heat in the lower burner: This pattern is characterized by acute, throbbing, hot low back pain that is worse with damp weather and better with warmth and sweating. It is often accompanied by a feeling of heaviness in the lower back, urinary frequency, and a yellow, sticky, foul-smelling discharge.

Treatment of lower back pain with Chinese medicine may include acupuncture, herbal medicine, and lifestyle and dietary recommendations to address the underlying pattern of disharmony and support the healthy functioning of the kidney and liver organ systems.