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Tables for:
Acupuncture for Chronic Low Back Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment Patterns Among Acupuncturists Evaluating the Same Patient

[South Med J 94(5):486-492, 2001. © 2001 Southern Medical Association]


Table 1. Assessment of the Same Patient With Chronic Low Back Pain by Seven Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Acupuncturists


 Provider
1234567
Questioning Style
   TCM questioningXXXXXX 
   Biomedical historyXX XX X
Examination
   TongueXXXXXXX
   PulseXXXXXXX
   Visual inspection* XXXX X
   Voice analysisX XXX  
Palpation Technique
   Pressure pointsXXXXX X
   ChannelXX XXXX
   Abdominal X     
Diagnostic Assessment
   Kidney Qi deficiencyXX     
   Yin deficiency X X   
   Qi stagnation XXXXXX
   Blood stagnation  XXXX X
   Lung Yin deficiencyX      
   Liver Qi stagnation  X    
Day patient sees provider (over 15-day schedule)123791215

X = Technique used by provider.
*Included inspection of posture, skin color, expression.


Table 2. Treatment Prescribed by Six Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncturists for Chronic Low Back Pain in the Same Patient


Prescribed Treatment at First VisitProvider
1234567
No. Points541495?11
   Spine (neck/back/buttock)041264?5
   Leg/foot20231?5
   Hand30000?1
No. needles107261510?20
Elicit de qi±++++?±
Time (min)?20202030?15-20
Use of heat IR/IMIRIR/WNIR/IMNone?IR
Other adjuvants   Cupping   
Key to Figure legend1 (Square)2 M3 (filled triangle)4 (open triangle)5 (circle) 6

IR = Infrared heat lamp, IM = indirect moxibustion, WN = warm needle, + = elicited at all points, ± = elicited at some but not all points, ? = not recorded.