A Successful Treatment Case Report
By Winston Lee L.Ac., Ph.D., KMD
I want to share my case of spinal stenosis that I treated and saw great improvement.
This patient is a male in his 70s who came to my clinic for a consultation and started treatment. His MRI results from December last year showed moderate to severe stenosis and disc herniation between lumbar 4/5 and 5/S1.
Spinal stenosis is a condition that is rare in younger people and is usually seen in those over the age of 60. It is only when the symptoms are very severe that surgical treatment is considered, and non-surgical treatments include steroid injections to reduce inflammation. Recurrences are frequent, and since most patients have diabetes, hypertension, kidney, and heart problems often unable to apply treatments such as surgery or injections.
On the first day, I gave a detailed analysis and patient education. I explained that he needed customized herbal medicine for spine treatment at least three months: acupuncture twice a week and physical therapy. The patient continued to take herbal medicine with Wu Jia Pi, Du Zhong, and Gou Ji. When he returned in April, his symptoms were 80% improved. The treatment was completed in mid-May, and the patient was advised to return once every six months for a two-week course of herbal medicine and acupuncture.
This patient was convinced that his spinal stenosis could be cured with herbs and acupuncture, and he continued to visit me for three months, achieving the above results despite being over 70 years old. The herbs I prescribed to him were formulated to strengthen the vertebrae and nerves and effectively reduce inflammation in the spinal cords. My acupuncture treatment also effectively controlled the numbness and pain, allowing him to avoid oral painkillers and injections, which have side effects such as gastritis. This patient has been taking herbal medicine for the past three months, and it is expected that he will be able to prevent future degenerative diseases in his back, cervical spine, and other joints.
Spinal stenosis is a degenerative disease, and any treatment cannot guarantee the patient will go back to normal. Suppose the patient is fully aware of these limitations and reasonable treatment goals and is willing to follow through with the treatment. In that case, I am confident that most patients with spinal stenosis can achieve the same successful outcome without surgery or chemical steroid injections. In addition, even if the patient has reached the almost no pain phase afterward, he or she can continue to enjoy a high quality of life by returning twice a year for “management” to prevent recurrence.
