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10 Case Studies
The following case studies do not represent the average case load of everyday clinical prac-
tice, rather some outstanding and explicit cases have been chosen for the purpose of this
book. Chronic disorders treated with acupuncture long-term for pain reduction cannot be
described here since these treatments are not considered as concluded.
■ Before the start of treatment patients were examined physically and diagnosed accord-
ing to criteria based on Western conventional medicine. Any concurrent prescription
medication taken by the patient is mentioned in the text (medical history).
■ Acupuncture points used in body acupuncture are abbreviated (based on ‘A Practical
Dictionary of Chinese Medicine’).
■ Treatments were based on the principles of TCM. The explanations based on merid-
ians and syndrome patterns are marked with a figure. These figures are referenced in
the point prescription to establish a link between the chosen points and TCM criteria.
Points not referenced by a figure correspond to treatment criteria of minor importance.
■ When Chinese Herbal Medicine was used the individual herbs are listed with both the
pinyin and Latin name. The prescribed herbs varied from treatment to treatment and
not all herbs were prescribed at the one time. Generally, the herb combinations do not
correspond to classical formulas.
10.1 Paediatric Migraine
R.S., 11-year-old female; treatment period: 4/10/2000 to 25/5/2001
Medical history
■ Recurrent progressive headaches since age 4
■ Generally lasting 1–2 days
■ Occasionally in combination with sensitivity to light and noise, or abdominal pain
■ Worse with foehn winds
■ Additional finding: on rare occasions lower back pain due to scoliosis
TCM diagnosis
■ Deficiency of the Middle
■ Kidney deficiency
■ Liver stagnation
■ Wind evil
Treatment principle
Alleviate symptoms by
1. Tonifying deficient organs/meridians
2. Coursing the Liver
3. Relaxing tight spinal sections (cervical and lumbar spine)
4. Extinguishing Wind
