Case Study on mid & low back pain, neck pain, alopecia, anxiety & stress
Case Study
30 year old male has had chronic back pain (mid and low), and neck pain since July 2018. He also has anxiety, depression, and stress that is exacerbated by his demanding work schedule. This began in 2014-2015 but was exacerbated by moving location for work in 2017. Patient also struggles with chronic fatigue due to his work schedule. Patient has had 27 treatment and is in maintenance care currently. Initial treatment protocol included 8 treatments.
Acupuncture Treatment Summary
8/6/2018- Patient’s main concern is mid-back pain that was exacerbated due to exercising as well as holding tension during work. He had just come from a chiropractic adjustment so the pain is 2/10. Patient states minimal neck and low back pain.
8/24/2018- Patients mid-back pain improved for 2 days since his last treatment and he notes that it is tight along the muscle from his back and spine wrapping towards his left side and front of his left side on the intercostal muscle. This pain is worse upon movement and he attributes the increase in pain due to exercise (lifting weights at the gym) as well as his long work hours. He states that the pain is 2/10. Patient states very minimal neck and low back pain today.
8/29/201- Patient no longer has mid-back pain at this time and states that he was able to be pain free for 7 days after his last treatment. Patient does not have low back pain or neck pain but is struggling with worsening fatigue due to his demanding work schedule.
9/5/2018- Patient had worsening in his anxiety and fatigue due to increased work hours and work stress. His back pain returned 2/10 in the mid-back, 0/10 in low back, and 1/10 in neck pain. The pain quality is sharp.
9/10/2018- Patient’s mid-back pain is dull and no longer sharp at 1-2/10 and his neck pain is 1/10. Patient’s sleep has improved but he still feels anxiety. Patient has begun his facial acupuncture treatments for alopecia. This is his 4th out of 8 treatments.
9/26/2018- Patient does not feel significant mid-back, low back, or neck pain. The level is 0-1/10. Patients anxiety has improved and he feels his mood is more balanced. Patient’s face is slimmer after his first session of facial acupuncture.
10/3/2018- Patient is focusing more on facial acupuncture during this treatment due to improvement in mid-back, low back, and neck pain. His face is appearing slimmer and patient states that he has noticed a fuller hairline.
10/19/2018- 10/23/2019- Patient experiences continued improvements with his alopecia with the appearance of fuller hair growth in his frontal hairline. His mid-back pain can be exacerbated when he is working longer hours but the pain level is currently 0-1/10. He has very minimal low back and neck tension. Patient’s mood is still more balanced. Patient finishes his initial set of 8 treatments and is re-evaluated to have his treatments 1x/week for the remainder of his facial acupuncture treatments.10/31/2018- This is after his 8th out of 8 treatments and after reevaluation, his current main concerns are his anxiety and how he manages it by having inconsistent eating habits as well as his chronic fatigue from working long and stressful hours.
He is still enjoying the benefits of facial acupuncture and has fuller hair in his frontal line with a more toned appearance and less bloating in the face.
Patient had 2 more treatments.
12/7/2018- The patient had an increase in his workload and experience pain and tension along his trapezius at 3/10 bilaterally. His anterior hairline appears fuller. He finished his 10 facial acupuncture treatments.
Patient had 3 more treatments.
2/13/2019- Patient’s pain has diminished however he is feeling more fatigued and brain fog due to his work. His anxiety is more diminished. He has a fuller hairline and has been able to space out his facial acupuncture treatments more than during his initial set of treatments.
Patient had 2 more treatments.
5/6/2019- Patient is no longer dealing with pain but has had more anxiety due to an event in his personal life.
5/22/2019- Patient has had a decrease in stress and anxiety. He continues to get maintenance facial acupuncture treatments to encourage hair growth but has retained the progress that he achieved with earlier sessions of facial acupuncture.
6/12/2019- Patient has had decreased stress and more sound sleep since the last treatment. Due to a busy work schedule, his neck and shoulder tension has acted up and is currently 4-5/10. He is continuing his facial acupuncture to continue improving hair growth.
