[Acupotomy combined with myofascial manipulation for postpartum episiotomy incision pain: a case report]

This paper reports the treatment of a postpartum woman with severe pain at the episiotomy incision using acupotomy combined with myofascial manipulation. After vaginal delivery assisted by episiotomy, the patient suffered from dehiscence and secondary infection of the episiotomy incision, resulting in severe incision pain. The patient's pain was not relieved after secondary suture, and the physical function was limited in sitting position and lateral position on the affected side. The disease was characterized by deficiency of qi and blood as the root cause and qi stagnation and blood stasis as the superficial manifestation, which generally belonged to a pattern of deficiency in root and excess in manifestation, with a mixture of deficiency and excess. Acupotomy combined with myofascial manipulation was used to precisely release the adhesive tissues. Treatment was administered once a week for a total of two sessions. After the first treatment, the patient's pain was significantly reduced, and she could immediately resume a sitting position; after the second consolidation treatment,normal activities were restored. At a 1-month follow-up, there was no recurrence of pain, and no scar induration or adhesion formation was found on palpation.