Course Overview

Low back pain, especially chronic low back pain, is the number one reason people seek out acupuncture services in most western countries. Knowing how to successfully manage low back pain patients not only provides much needed relief to those suffering from this common condition, but it can also be of prime importance to successful acupuncture practice. In this practical course, Matthew Bauer shares his tried and true point combinations for treating low back problems as well as his highly refined systems for patient management. You will learn than most low back pain patients will respond well to either a local or distal point combination and how to choose between the two. Matthew refined his point and patient management protocols over an intensive 2-decade period when he had thousands of low back pain patients referred to him from several pain management clinics in Southern California. Most of these cases were patients that had already been unsuccessfully treated with multiple modalities from pain management doctors and therapists. Even if you already do well with most low back pain patients, this course will help you improve your success rates with those unresponsive ones.

Course Objectives

• Difficulties with diagnosis: Students will learn how to manage patients when the physical cause of their suffering is unknown.
• The Intake: Understanding how to explain your treatment process so that your patient feels comfortable engaging your services and how to ask the right questions to get the information you need to begin treatment and get off on the right foot.
• Acupuncture protocols: Students will learn acupuncture point combinations and how to space treatments to get the most benefit with the least number of treatments will be explained in detail.
• Patient self-care: Students will learn how to reduce the backward steps patients cause themselves while teaching them safe practices that can improve their outcomes.

Course Outline

0 hrs - 15 minDifficulties with diagnosis: In most cases of low back pain, a definitive diagnosis is difficult, if not impossible, to reach. Students will learn how to manage patients when the physical cause of their suffering is unknown.

15 min - 45 minThe Intake: How to explain your treatment process so that your patient feels comfortable engaging your services and how to ask the right questions to get the information you need to begin treatment and get off on the right foot.

45 min - 1.25 hrsAcupuncture protocols: Point combinations and how to space treatments to get the most benefit with the least number of treatments will be explained in detail and how long to stay with your plan A before changing to plan B.

1.25 hrs - 1.75 hrsPatient self-care: Students will learn how to reduce the backward steps patients cause themselves while teaching them safe practices that can improve their outcomes.

1.75 hrs - 2 hrsAdjunctive therapies: Acupuncture is not the only therapy needed for best results. Students will learn the more reliable and cost-effective adjunctive therapies.