We report on a case of acute, sport-related back pain treated with pressing moxibustion and acupuncture therapy. A 15-year-old high school freshman fell on his back while shooting a basketball during a game. He felt acute back pain on the second day following his injury. We suspected a fracture and advised him to visit an orthopaedic surgeon, where he was diagnosed with a contusion. Upon return to us, we began acupuncture therapy of his inferior limb acupoints and pressing moxibustion of his contused muscle, while evaluating his pain using a numerical rating scale. He experienced pain relief after the second pressing moxibustion treatment. His numerical pain score changed for the better, and his treatment was ended after the third visit. In cases of pressing moxibustion, moxa sticks are directly pressed onto acupoints protected with non-flammable cloth. In Japan, however, the term moxibustion therapy generally indicates direct moxibustion. Therefore Japanese moxibustion therapists rarely choose the pressing moxibustion therapy option. This case suggests that pressing moxibustion for acute contused wounds or lower back pain is also effective.
Acute ; Back Pain ; Therapeutic procedure ; Pain ; therapeutic aspects

We treated a 38-year-old woman with Traumatic Cervical Syndrome (TCS) due to a traffic accident, with orthopaedic therapy plus acupuncture. She was driving a light vehicle and was rear-ended. She reported finger numbness, and shoulder and back pain on the day following the accident. We treated her with acupoints of the superior and inferior limb and evaluated her pain using a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). She felt an immediate effect after the treatment, and NRS changed for the better following her progress. Her most severe symptoms gradually improved with a course of 49 treatments over 7 months. These results suggest the effects of acupuncture appear useful in TCS. Patients with intractable TCS are troubled by long-term treatments. Therefore it is necessary to establish more evidence for acupuncture therapy in TCS cases.
Therapeutic procedure ; symptoms <1> ; Traumatic ; Cervical ; Syndrome