Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2021; 9(27): 8082-8089
Published online Sep 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i27.8082
Retraction of lumbar disc herniation achieved by noninvasive techniques: A case report
Ping Wang, Cai Chen, Qing-Hao Zhang, Guo-Dong Sun, Cong-An Wang, Wei Li
Ping Wang, State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University, State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Ping Wang, Shandong Academy of Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, Shandong Province, China
Cai Chen, Medical Rehabilitation Research Center, Shandong Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China
Qing-Hao Zhang, Bone Biomechanics Engineering Laboratory of Shandong Province, Neck-Shoulder and Lumbocrural Pain Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250062, Shandong Province, China
Guo-Dong Sun, Academy of Medical Engineering and Translational Medicine, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Guo-Dong Sun, Department of Rehabilitation, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University (Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Jinan 250031, Shandong Province, China
Cong-An Wang, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Neck-Shoulder and Lumbocrural Pain Hospital, Shandong Medicinal Biotechnology Center, Jinan 250062, Shandong Province, China
Wei Li, School of Control Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Wang P, Chen C, and Zhang QH contributed equally to this work; Wang P and Chen C designed the report; Zhang QH, Sun GD, and Wang CA collected the patient’s clinical data; Wang P and Li W analyzed the data and drafted the report; Chen C and Li W edited the manuscript.
Supported by Major Science and Technology Innovation Projects of Shandong Province, No. 2018CXGC1310; Natural Foundation of Shandong Province, No. ZR2019MH134; Project of Jinan "20 Universities", No. 2019GXRC040; Shandong Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. YJZX003; and Collaborative Innovation Center Project of quality Control of traditional Chinese Medicine and Construction of whole Industry chain in Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province, No. CYLXTCX2020-04.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of her case details and accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Li reports grants from Science and Technology Department of Shandong Province and from Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China during the conduct of the study.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei Li, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Control Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Institute, Shandong University, No. 27 Shanda South Road, Jinan 250061, Shandong Province, China. cindy@sdu.edu.cn
Received: May 11, 2021
Peer-review started: May 11, 2021
First decision: June 15, 2021
Revised: June 29, 2021
Accepted: July 16, 2021
Article in press: July 16, 2021
Published online: September 26, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) has emerged as one of the most common causes of low back pain. The routine treatment approach involves chemonucleolysis therapy, discectomy by percutaneous endoscopy, and percutaneous laser disc decompression. Unfortunately, all of these methods carry inherent risk of causing harm to the patient and, as such, there is an unmet but urgent need for an effective and safe noninvasive treatment for LDH. The purpose of this report is to describe a non-invasive method for re-absorption of LDH.

CASE SUMMARY

A 34-year-old woman was admitted with a complaint of waist pain that she reported as having become acutely aggravated over the past 3 d and accompanied by discomfort in the right lower limb. Her self-reported medical history included persistent postpartum low back pain from 7 years prior. Physical exam showed positivity for neck flexion test (Lindner sign) and supine abdomen test; the straight leg-raising test showed right 60(+) and left 80(-). Findings from standard imaging (magnetic resonance) and collective physical examinations indicated a L5/S1 herniated lumbar disc. Treatment consisted of three-dimensional (balanced regulating) spinal manipulation and acupuncture, upon which the LDH resolved by retraction.

CONCLUSION

Following L5/S1 herniated lumbar disc diagnosis, three-dimensional (balanced regulating) spinal manipulation combined with acupuncture therapy is an effective treatment.

Keywords: Low back pain, Lumbar disc herniation, Retraction, Three-dimensional spinal manipulation, Balance regulating, Manipulation, Case report

Core Tip: In view of the risks associated with surgical treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH), this case report describes the successful treatment of a disc herniation by means of three-dimensional (balanced regulating) spinal manipulation. The steps involved in this technique are as follows: (1) Relaxation and stiffening; (2) three-dimensional spine manipulation; and (3) relaxation. Ultimately, this treatment effectively cured the patient’s LDH and provided a safe noninvasive alternative to the current invasive methods, overcoming their inherent risks.