Let’s talk about lower back pain.
If you’ve been practicing acupuncture for any amount of time, you know it’s one of the most common complaints patients bring to your clinic. They walk in, fill out their paperwork, and pour their energy into describing their lower back problem.
But here’s the kicker: patients don’t always give you all the information you need. Sometimes, it’s because they don’t think certain details are relevant. Other times, they’ve lived with their original nagging aches and pains for so long that they forget they exist.
And that’s where AcuGraph steps in to save the day.
AcuGraph: The Lie Detector Test for Your Patients’ Energy
Here’s something I’ve noticed over my 16 years of using AcuGraph: it acts like a lie detector test. Not because patients are intentionally withholding information, but because the graph reveals what they didn’t think was important—or simply forgot to mention.
When a patient comes in with a messy graph, it can feel overwhelming at first. Where did the problem start? What’s contributing to the pain?
I’ll let you in on a secret I’ve learned over the years:
“I’ve never seen lower back pain that didn’t start in the shoulders.”
Sounds surprising, right? But when you understand the flow of energy through the acupuncture pathways, it makes perfect sense. And once you see it in the energy cycle, you can’t unsee it.
The Patient Story: A Classic Case of Mysterious Lower Back Pain
Let’s say a patient comes in with debilitating lower back pain. They describe how they bent over to pick something up or stood up from the kitchen table, and suddenly, they couldn’t move.
You ask the usual questions:
- Were you in an accident?
- Did you fall?
- Did you slip on the ice?
- Were you raking leaves?
- Did you sleep wrong?
Nothing. They’ve got no explanation for their pain.
Here’s where the magic question comes in:
“If your lower back wasn’t hurting, what would be hurting?”
The Graph Tells the Real Story
When I run their AcuGraph analysis, I don’t just look at the lower back. I dig deeper, following the flow of energy through the pathways. Here’s how I explain it to the patient:
Step 1: The Small Intestine Pathway
I click on the Small Intestine muscular pathway and show them how it travels through the arm, shoulders, neck, and jaw.
I ask, “Do you typically experience pain in these areas?”
They nod. Yes, that’s where I always get tension.
Step 2: The Urinary Bladder Pathway
Next, I highlight the Urinary Bladder pathway. “Notice how this pathway overlaps with the Small Intestine pathway,” I explain.
Blocked energy in the shoulders can create resistance that cascades down to the lower back, where the pain is now manifesting.
Step 3: The Kidney Pathway
Finally, I bring the Kidney pathway into the conversation:
“This pathway impacts the musculature of the knees and the spine. Weakness here can affect how your nervous system communicates with the body. This pathway connects deeply into the lumbar region.”
When patients see this progression—from the shoulders to the lower back—it clicks. They start to understand that their pain didn’t just appear out of nowhere.
The Takeaway: Treating Lower Back Pain with the Energy Cycle
Here’s why AcuGraph is such a game-changer: it gives you a roadmap. By understanding the flow of energy from channel to channel, you gain insights that go far beyond what patients share in their paperwork.
And when you treat pain through the lens of the energy cycle, you get better results—faster.
When treating lower back pain, I always address the Small Intestine, Urinary Bladder, and Kidney pathways together.
Why?
Because this combination resolves both the immediate pain and the underlying blockages contributing to the problem.
Why This Matters for You
Lower back pain isn’t just about the lower back. It’s about understanding how stagnant energy flows—or doesn’t flow—through the entire system.
As an AcuGraph user, you have the power to see what other practitioners can’t. And when you can explain these insights to your patients in a way that’s simple and logical, you’ll gain their trust.
That trust is what sets you apart.
AcuGraph isn’t just a tool—it’s a powerful diagnostic resource. It’s the reason your patients will leave saying: “Wow. I came in for lower back pain. I had no idea that when the low back pain went away, everything else would feel better as well.”
And that’s how you build a reputation as the best acupuncturist in town!
Understanding these deeper layers is crucial—but so is helping your patients understand how long their healing journey will take. In the next blog post, we’ll talk about Utilizing AcuGraph to help set realistic expectations for your patient’s chief complaint: What to Expect During the Healing Journey: Tackling Messy Graphs with Confidence
Can’t wait for next Tuesday’s post? Click HERE to learn more about AcuGraph!
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