Low Back Pain treated with Dry Needling and Acupuncture
Releasing the Motor Point of the Upper Trapezius to treat Chronic Low Back Pain
Release the Trigger Points in the Low Back with Dry Needling
I almost always treat chronic low back pain by dry needling the activated trigger points in your low back that are causing your pain. Trigger points are the source of most cases of muscular and fascial pain, and they can even refer pain down the leg, mimicking sciatic pain.
Stimulate the Motor Points with Dry Needles
I also stimulate your motor points with dry needles, because when we do this your muscle will immediately fasiculate. You will feel your muscles and fascia “jump” uncontrollably. This is the tissues returning to the normal length that was lost with overuse, overexertion, chronic stress. That is why people in pain so often feel tight. Because they are tight! .Most patients really enjoy this process, and get off the table feeling a lot more loose and relaxed.
But why do I begin with Trigger and Motor points in the Shoulders?
The Motor Point of the Upper Trapezius Relaxes The Pelvis and Low Back
The motor point of the upper trapezius, called Jian Jing in Classical Chinese Acupuncture (Gall Bladder 21 in the numbering system)- is forbidden during pregnancy. And that is because it relaxes the pelvis, which is exactly why I DO want to do it in cases of low back pain. Of course if my patient is a female, I make sure she is not pregnant or trying to be recently.
Tight Backs Live with Tight Pelvises; The Pelvis is the Foundation that the Low Back Rests On.
Most people with chronic low back pain also have tight pelvises, so everything we can do to help that, from the upper trap motor point, Jian Jing, to the motor points of the Glute medius and minimus, the piriformis even, is a plus…..In a severe case, especially if the patient describes discomfort in the front of the hips, as was the case just yesterday with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu patient with low back pain, I will also stimulate the motor points of the Ilio-psoas, and the Tensor Fascia Lata.
The Infraspinatus Motor Point: Release the Shoulders to Release the Pelvis
The motor point of the Infraspinatus, a critical point for the shoulder girdle, is also very valuable for a few reasons. One, if the pelvis is tight, you can count on the shoulders being tight. So lets release both!
Tian Zong or “Celestial Harmony” is what Chinese Acupuncture Calls the Infraspinatus Motor Point
Secondly, in Classical Chinese Acupuncture, this motor point is called
Tian Zong, which means “Celestial Gathering”.
This name tells us two things. One, it is point where Qi gathers, (Qi comes from heaven, or celestial) and here, gather is in a way, a negative, as it describes how the Qi associated with stress collects or stagnates. And that is a point that everyone loves to have massaged when stressed.
Healthy Qi versus Unhealthy Qi
We are all creatures of Qi, and Qi can be healthful, like after eating a nice meal with a lovely friend, or taking a pleasent vacation; that is Qi flowing, but when it accumulates, due to frustration and stress, it creates tension and heat.
So Tian Zong harmonizes the flow of Qi throughout the entire body, including the low pack and pelvis!
Celestial Gathering, Infra-spinatus Motor Point and Anxiety
The name Celestial Gathering also suggests the final reason to use Tian Zong. Any acupuncture point with the word celestial, and even herb formula and single herbs with celestial in the name, will influence the Heart Qi. This point influences our Heart Qi. It is on the Small Intestine channel, which in our ancient channel system is paired with the Heart channel!
Everyone with stress is anxious, especially if its back pain. So this acupuncture point has a relaxing and calming effect on the emotional heart, a very good beginning to any low back treatment. When you feel better emotionally, you have a better chance with your back pain.
Use of the Infraspinatus Motor Point in Insomnia and Anxiety
In fact I nearly always use Tian Zong when I treat insomnia, anxiety, or even more serious mental health disorders. Our ancient text describe how Tian Zong can treat “Mental and spiritual chaos:”
It is said that “Tian Zong can Clear the internal chaos for people who have lost clarity and certainty.” Sounds like an ideal point for teenagers and young adults, for people in recovery or with PTSD.
Tian Zong is a point that treats Anxiety: It can calming an anxious heart by opening the Qi flow of the chest. There are points on the front of the torso that we will combine for this, also on the wrist and foot.
Dry Needling the Trigger and Motor Points of this Patient with Low Back Pain
Getting back to this patient and his low back pain. After getting the shoulder and scapula needles in, and observing the patient’s reaction, I continued dry needling of the trigger points in the para-vertebral muscles of his low back, and continued with the motor points of the gluteus medius/minimus.
He got up off of the table and reported immediate relief of his back pain…To be fair this was not a case of a bulging disc, which can take more work. But for mild to moderate chronic back pain, sometimes even a single treatment does the trick. And in this case, it did1
