Main Concern(s): Chronic Pain, High Blood Pressure

 

A. Z

 

Aaron Li Balance Method
Main concerns: Chronic Pain, High Blood Pressure
Patient: 58 years old, female, Michigan
Practitioner: Aaron Li

Patient History:

Patient has concerns with high blood pressure (150/85), chronic pain in the knees, hips, and thumb joints.  The discomfort is a daily occurrence and is constant. Movements such as bending over, sitting, standing, sleeping on side, or exercise for too long can all aggravate the pain.  Pain medication (Prednisone) and massage alleviates some of the complaints temporarily.  She has also tried injections, seeing a chiropractic, vitamins, supplements, and dietary changes which also helped temporarily.

The conditions are affecting her family life in that she can not fully enjoy her time with her grandkids, which is causing stress.  She also can not enjoy hobbies such as golf and sewing. It is also effecting her emotional health and sleep quality. 

She hopes that through treatment she can move more freely and keep up with her grandchildren, feel more lively, feel happier, feel lighter, and spend less time managing her body.

She is currently being treated for her thyroid issue and high blood pressure.  She has been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, IT band syndrome, and obesity in the past.  She is on medication for lowering her blood pressure and heart rate.

Some other symptoms include headaches, excessive appetite, poor memory, foggy brain, edema, heart palpitations, low libido, restlessness, depression, scratchy throat, nasal issues, weak coughing, wheezing, flushed face, hair loss, brittle finger nails, facial swelling, tinnitus, dry eyes, floaters, difficulty sleeping, and muscle stiffness.

 

Treatment:

In her initial exam she can not walk properly, has trouble getting up, standing up, her walking movements do not feel properly aligned, she can not sit for very long, and can not get on the ground to exercise or play with grandkids.  There is a sharp pain in her knees when she walks.  She feels stress from her high blood pressure, and the ache is constant.  She does not have full range of motion in her hips. She can not touch her toes and doesn’t have full range of motion of her lower back. 

Jueyin-Yangming treatment

Liver inflammation, kidney weakness, lunges and heat weakness, sometimes Chest pain.

 

After one month into treatment, her blood pressure went down (129/69) and stayed within range.  She states it might be creeping back up.  She has had a knee injury since her initial exam.  She has no more heart flutters and sleep has improved.  She still has trouble getting up, but feels better overall.

 

At the two months mark of her treatment, she reported her blood pressure is in good range.

She had physical therapy for her knees.  She stated that injections did not help, but acupuncture is helpful for the pain. She has excellent sleep at night.  Rolling over isn’t as bad. 
She has a new goal of losing 15 lbs. She rates her overall discomfort from a 10 to a 6 now.

She hopes to lose weight and reduce sugar craving and arthritis.

At the five month mark of her treatment, she feels issues with losing weight in the area of preplanning, stress, preplanning, stress, and eating right.  She is continuing exercising but still feels pain and can’t move as well.

 

At the six month mark into treatment, she states her chronic pain is still there, but so much better.  She still feels pain if she sits for more than half an hour.  At night she has discomfort in the left knee cap as it feels like it is in the wrong position.
She still isn’t able to walk for exercise, but has no trouble walking doing everyday things.

She has lost 10 pounds (273 lbs) and her clothes fit better.
She is sleeping better, and her blood pressure is lower than during her initial exam (135/70).
She is committed to doing pilates as exercise. Her immediate weight goal is 230 pounds, and hopes to reach her end goal of 180 pounds.

 

Conclusion:
Patient no longer feels her pain is so debilitating as to get in the way of spending time with her grandkids.  She has made enough recovery to implement exercise into her routine and feels more motivated in terms of weight loss goals.