38 year old Kenneth came to the clinic complaining about upper back pain. Ken had the pain for 20 years. At age 18 he hurt his neck at a basketball game. At age 20 he had a ski accident and broke his saacrum. Those injuries were not completely healed. Off and on the pain bothered him. In recent years, it became worse. A year and half ago, Ken had his shoulder operated on to try to fix his problem. He also tried chiropractic and physical therapies without significant improvement. Last week two nights in a row the pain kept him awake the whole night and he was unable to sleep. In the morning when he woke up, the pain was not too bad and he was able to function without problems. But as the day progressed the pain would get worse and became intolerable.

Ken was treated with acupuncture needles during his first treatment. It took about 90 minutes. He first laid on his back to have his abdomenum areas palpated. Then needles were inserted in his tummy and feet. Moxibution threads were burned beside a few needles. This took about twently minutes. Then Ken was asked to turn over to lay on his stomach. Needles went in on his scalp, feet, and back. Needles went in to relieve certain palpational pressure sores as well as his back pain.

After Ken got up from his first acupuncture treatment table, he proclaimed immediate relief from his pain. He was warned that this relief generally last a day, two-three days, or a week depending on body's reaction. He was advised to come back within a week to strengthen treatment. Ken's work schedule was tight and he could only make his appointment in the following week.

When Ken came to his second treatment, he said his pain was much tolerable. He had pain one night the week before, but in general he was in pretty good condition.

During his third acupuncture treatment, Ken asked if acupuncture can help with his planta faciatis problems. He said he walked his dog every day. Whenever he walked more than six miles, his heels would cause him severe pressure pain. So a tiny face needle went in on his face to relieve the heel pain. It worked like a charm for him.

Ken came another month for his weekly acupuncture treatment. By the end of his sixth treatment, he proclaimed that he was pain-free.