Name: Xiong.

Sex: Female.

Age: 52 years.

0ccupation: A peasant.

Chief Complaint: Palpitation and chest oppression for 2 months, lumbosacral pain for 2 years.

History of Present Illness: Two years ago, the patient got a lumbosacral pain without obvious causes. At the beginning, it's an intermittent dull pain, slowly, it became a constant prickling pain, which was usually aggravated by weather changing or overwork. Sometimes the aggravated severe pain prevented her from doing anything, so that she had to lie down on the bed in order to relieve it. In the recent half a year, it got worse and worse. Sometimes there was a lightning pain radiating to the buttocks and thighs, which severely affected her daily life. In addition, she got palpitation, chest oppression and shortness of breath in the recent 2 months, it' s usually induced by overwork and occurred paroxysmally. Then she came to our hospital for treatment on July 8,1999. Since the illness came on, her appetite, sleeping, urination and defecation had been normal all along. There weren't dizziness, headache and edema of lower extremities and so on. There was not other complaint.

Physical Examination: The patient was conscious with a normal general condition. The pulse was thready, abrupt and irregular. The tongue was red with a thick layer of white fur. The respiratory sounds in the lungs were clear, no rale could be heard. HR was 86 beats/min. No murmur could be heard, but there were premature beats, which occurred 3 or 4 times a minute. The abdomen was normal. There were tenderness and precussion pain in the lumbosacral portion. The raising test of the straight-leg on both sides was positive. There was not other abnormal sign.

Roentgenogrum Examination: The X-ray film showed there were spurs of superior borders of the first to the fifth lumbar vertebraes. It showed there was retrograde degeneration of the lumbar vertebraes.

Examination of Electrocardiogram: HR was 86 beats/rain, there was junctional premature beat which occurred 3 or 4 times a minute.

Diagnosis: ¢Ù Arrhythmia: Junctional Premature Beat. ¢Ú Retrograde Affection of Lumbar Vertebrae. Differentiation: This disease, in TCM, belongs to the category of "XinJi ZhengZhong" ( severe palpitation) and "YaoTong" (lumbago). It' s caused by deficiency of kidney-qi, which caused there was a failure of kidney to control the bone's normal growing, so that the spurs were formed. The spurs caused the blood stasis and stagnation of qi in the affected region, then the patient got the lumbago. In addition, there was stagnation of qi in the chest, which caused the heart qi' s flowing became unsmooth and the functional activities of qi became disorderly, and then the patient got the palpitation and chest oppression.

Therapeutic Principle: Activating blood and activating qi; invigorating spleen and benefiting qi, tranquilizing the mind with heavy material. In addition, dredging the obstructed channel passage and collaterals to relieve the lumbago quickly with acupuncture.

Recipe:

DangShen,Pilose Asiabell Root 30g

BaiZhu,Bighead Atractylodes Rhizome 10g

FuShen,Poria with Hostwood 9g

BaiLongChi,Dragon's Teeth 30g (to be decocted earlier)

ZeXie,Oriental Water Plantain Rhizome 15g

HanFangJi,Tetrandra Root 10g

ChuanXiong,Chuanxiong Rhizome 15g

QuanGuaLou,Trichosanthes Fruit 25g

XieBai,Macrostem Onion 12g

ZhiKe,Fruit of Citron 5g

DanShen,Red Sage Root 18g

ZhiGanCao,Prepared Liquorice Root 30g

TanXiang, Sandalwood 5g

GuiZhi,Cinnamon Twig 6g

BaiShao,White Peony Root 5g

All the above herbs were to be decocted in water for oral taking, 5 doses were prescribed. Greasy and fat food was forbidden. In addition, she was told to grind 30g of HuPo (Amber) into powder, taking 0.5g of the powder each time, 3 times a day. During the same period, accupuncture was used. The used points were as follows(all points are both sides) :

Weizhong (BL40)

Shenshu (BL23)

Qihaishu (BL24)

Dachangshu (BL25 )

Guanyuanshu (BL26)

I manipulated the needles in the points of Weizhong (BL40) and Dachangshu (BL25) with reducing skill and manipulated the needles in the other points with invigorating skill, once a day.

Effect Observation: After 1 day's treatment, the lumbosacral pain was relieved greatly. After 5 days' treatment, the lumbago disappeared, the palpitation, chest oppression and shortness of breath all disappeared too. The patient could bend her waist forward or backward freely. Reexamination of electrocardiogram showed the junctional premature beat had disappeared, HR was 80 beats/rain.

Then I stopped using the above decoction, and she was told to continue taking the powder of HuPo (Amber) and having accupuncture. After 5 day's treatment, there was no uncom-fortable sensation anymore. Then I stopped all the treatment. After 6 months' follow-up, the patient was in good health all along, the illness didn't recur. Then it's ending.