Acupuncture relieves acute low back pain caused by psoas muscle strain

Low back pain caused by psoas muscle injury is common but difficult to be treated due to its deep location. However, acupuncture stimulation at the BL52 acupoint specifically directed to the psoas muscle showed a fast pain relief in a patient with acute low back pain.

Psoas muscle is believed to be one of the most important muscles in the body. It is a deep hip muscle that originates on the vertebral bodies and transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5) and discs of thoracic 12/lumbar 1 to L4/5. The psoas functions as hip and thigh flexor, which makes it the major walking muscle. When the psoas becomes contracted due to the stress, injuries, poor postures and prolonged sitting it can cause many problems including low back pain, sacroiliac pain, sciatic, disc problems, knee pain and menstruation pain etc. Common approaches to psoas muscle pain, such as strengthening and stretching exercise, message and muscle relaxation, are not always satisfactory.

Dr. Kwan Leung Chia, in Australia, reported a case of acupuncture treatment of acute low back pain caused by psoas strain. A 65-year-old woman had a sudden onset of pain over the right low back and lasted for more than a week. The pain was rated 7/10. Because examination found active flexion of the hip exacerbated the pain more than other movements, psoas muscle strain was suspected as the cause of back pain. The patients did not feel much improvement about the pain after the first session of acupuncture. Then, Dr. Chia looked how best acupuncture needle can be inserted to psoas muscle by studying anatomical position of psoas major in relation to the low back on cadavers. It was found that needling BL52 at an angle of about 70^o would reach posterior portion of psoas muscle without damaging neighbouring tissues.  At the next session, the same acupoints were applied and large needle, 0.30mmx70mm were inserted into BL52 at an angle of about 70^o to the surface, and toward ipsilateral side of lumbar vertebrae to avoid damage visceral organs. The patient reported de qi sensation soon after needle being inserted into psoas muscle and felt less pain immediately after acupuncture. After another 5 sessions of acupuncture patient felt free of back pain.

The case study demonstrated that acupuncture needling to the specific muscle causing pain immediately relieve condition. It has been reported that acupuncture needle stimulation induces the local release of analgesic chemicals such as adenosine that exerts pain relief quickly.

Reference:

Chia KL, Electroacupuncture treatment of acute low back pain: unlikely to be a placebo response. Acupunct Med. 2014 May 15. pii: acupmed-2014-010582.   http://aim.bmj.com/content/early/2014/05/15/acupmed-2014-010582.extract