• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.143-153
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• 2005

What we want to report is the oriental medical treatment of eleven patients with lumbago. The patients had several features in common. First, the source of the lumbago was related to overdrinking or overeating, which is something like food damage(食傷) in oriental medicine. Second, they had symptoms of digestive trouble as well as lower back pain. Third, the R.O.M of lumbar spine was limited but there was no another special abnormality in physical examination. Fourth, singly they had muscular tenderness of Iliopsoas muscle and symptoms by Myofascial pain of Iliopsoas muscle was appeared. We assumed this sort of lumbago to be one due to retention of undigested food(食積) or damp-heat(濕熱) in oriental medicine, similar to Myofascial pain syndrome of Iliopsoas muscle in western counterpart. Acupuncture treatment was done to improve the digestive trobles according to oriental medical theory, and we saw the improvement in VAS score of lower back pain, degree of lumbar flexion, Iliopsoas muscle's tenderness and also digestive trobles. But an objective researches on the relation of lumbago due to retention of undigested food(食積) or damp-heat(濕熱) and myofascial pain syndrome of Iliopsoas muscle are quite lacking. However we think such a clinical approach could be useful in practices of oriental medicine increase in curative effect.