AcupunctureRox

The value of nutrition in supporting treatment

2010-06-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this! One of my back pain patients came in the morning and told me some startling good news. She has been coming since August, and doing really well with treatment. She's on a bi-monthly schedule with me now, just to keep the sciatic pain away.

Well, here is the startling discovery she made.....

She started reading the "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" book that many of you have seen on the waiting room coffee table. She was shocked to discover that, based on her blood type, she was eating ALL the wrong foods ... foods that are known to cause inflammation, especially in someone with her blood type. So, she cut out those foods and noticed that the back pain she was having almost completely cleared up. AND, the one night when she slipped and ate shellfish and tomatoes, the pain reared it's head within an hour of eating the wrong food.

The lesson here, is that if you are suffering from any long term health issues, whether it is digestive, menstrual, mood, or pain conditions, you owe it to yourself to find out if your diet has something to do with causing the problem, or simply making it worse.

I have lots of books around the office for you to check out, and I highly recommend taking our 8 week nutrition series with Erin Owen, and/or coming to the healthy eating potlucks we have once a month on the second Tuesday of each month!

See you soon!

Acupuncture relief in Haiti

2010-02-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

This is a video piece about Acupuncturists Without Borders in Haiti done by the reporter that was with them. It is a great example of the power of acupuncture to help with pain, stress, and emotional trauma.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100210/VIDEO/2102008&template=video

You can help provide relief and recovery in the wake of major disasters and traumatic events by supporting Acupuncturists Without Borders. www.ACWB.info

Engaging with the Black Widow, otherwise known as the Insurance Industry

2010-02-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

You know how you feel when someone takes the words right out of your mouth? That's how I felt this morning when I read my alumni email. One of my colleagues posted an exchange about the acupuncture profession and it's engagement with the insurance industry.

The analogy that comes to mind for me is that of a marriage where the man lusts after his mate, courts her, wins the day and then they married. BUT, that's just the beginning of the story.... Because, as so often happens in marriage, we change each other over time in a relationship. Often, this change is for the good, but sometimes, one spouse loses themselves so completely in the relationship that they are never quite the same. The spark and joy of life seems lost forever. And so, that is one possible (and some say probable) outcome of the acupuncture profession "engaging" in a relationship with the insurance industry.

Another, simpler, analogy is that of the praying mantis, or the black widow spider, both of whom kill their mate immediately after coitus.

Here, is the dialog between a chiropractor, who has seen this soul changing relationship dynamic with the insurance industry, and an acupuncturist who is seeing the "writing on the wall" of our profession's leadership courting the "black widow", otherwise known as the insurance industry. This exchange really pinpoints the beauty of the community acupuncture movement. We in community acupuncture, offer simple treatment, for low fees, and tend to people as unique individuals, not as insurance codes or reimbursement vehicles.

Dear friends,

Even though the thread about insurance has waned, I really want to share my
thoughts and feelings about it.

I am a chiropractor and so a member of a profession which has gone from
being excluded from the insurance game to being a player within the last
thirty-some years. While chiropractic and Chinese medicine differ in many
important regards, I think some aspects of my profession's experience are
likely relevant to you as you--individually and collectively--consider how
you want to engage with the insurance industry.

Industry--there's the key word. Insurance is an industry, born of an
industrial paradigm and keyed to the sensibilities of an industrial
society. While those sensibilities are changing a bit as we move from an
industrial to an "information" age, the basic assumptions are not radically
transforming. Insurance is wedded to, inextricable from, a view of the body
as a thing (an old fashioned machine or a computer, take your pick), and to
a view of illness and injury as technical problems to be "fixed" or "solved"
in the most expedient way possible.

Everything about the process of dealing with insurance hammers this point
home. One must reduce the living patient--a unique spark of Divine
creativity manifest here on Earth--to a set of numbers otherwise known as
diagnostic codes. One must likewise reduce one's experience of and work
with this person to a set of procedure codes, and one must make sure that
one's notes justify the numbers one has chosen in both cases. This is not
optional. If one is going to play the insurance game, one must play by
these rules. Sure, people bend them all the time, but to do so compromises
one's integrity in ways that are subtle but pervasive and powerful, and also
puts one's financial security--the very security most of us are seeking when
we choose to bill insurance--at risk. Here in Vermont, insurance companies
have taken to auditing chiropractors' notes and demanding that the
chiropractors repay the insurance companies--to the tune of tens of
thousands of dollars--if there is any sign of discrepancy between the
diagnosis and procedure codes and the chiropractor's notes.

The real issue is not the hassle of dealing with insurance--this is truly a
technical problem which is easily managed in a variety of ways. The deeper
question is whether the insurance paradigm is commensurable with the
paradigm of Chinese medicine, and if not, what engaging with the insurance
industry will do to your soul, as individual practitioners and as a
community of healers.

Americans are prone to believe that we as individuals or minorities can
engage with these vast collective entities and transform them from within.
We tend to consistently over-estimate the power of the individual and to
underestimate the power of the collective. Looking at the history of
chiropractic's enfoldment by insurance, I would say that the collective
entity has had far more effect upon us than we have had upon it.

Before the 1970's, chiropractors served a small minority of their
communities but were greatly trusted and often beloved within those
communities. Most were low-tech, high-touch family doctors, similar in
tone, although not in method, to the allopathic family doctors of earlier
generations. The trust and love were, I believe, rooted in part in the fact
that chiropractors lived close to the economic standards of the (often
working class) communities they served.

Since the 1970's, many chiropractors have gotten quite wealthy, but because
the insurance paradigm defines us as musculoskeletal specialists, we are
increasingly working as--and rightly viewed by the public--as such. Here in
Vermont and in some other, mostly rural or poor urban, communities some
chiropractors still play a wider role, one more in keeping with our
profession's historical roots and beliefs, but we are the exception, not the
rule. Meanwhile, I do not see that the insurance industry has become
significantly more receptive to the understanding of the soma, health, and
healing that was traditionally embedded within chiropractic thought and
practice.

While chiropractors have undoubtedly gained a certain measure of credibility
among allopaths in the years since we gained insurance recognition, we still
serve a tiny minority of the public (less than 10%), and I would say that we
have sacrificed some of the love and trust we historically enjoyed within
the communities we served. Engagement with insurance has also deepened
existing divides within the profession. The schism between those who want
to play the allopathic game, with its relentless and exclusive demand for
"scientific validation" and "evidence-based medicine" and those who insist
that illness, health and healing are fundamentally mysterious and cannot be
wholly encompassed within a Western mechanistic, reductionist scientific
paradigm is probably irreconcilable.

Chinese medicine is rooted in a much more powerfully articulated tradition
than modern chiropractic, a tradition that insists on mystery, even poetry,
as necessary aspects of the dance of healing. This tradition is a powerful
ally, but I question if even it is strong enough to withstand the daily
assaults offered by engagement with the dominant mechanistic/reductionist
paradigm so fully embodied in insurance. You, your traditions, your
practices, will be changed by such engagement, and you will not have as much
choice about the form such changes take as you might like to think.

I do not say there is a right or wrong answer here. I do think full
consciousness of the risks as well as benefits of dealing with insurance is
necessary. The allure of greater accessibility and income is great, but so
are the potential losses. Caveat emptor.

love,
Lisa

Edward (acupuncturist) Responds:
Lisa, what's interesting to me is the irony found in a recent cover article in "Acupuncture Today". Titled "The Bright Future of Acupuncture", it's authored by the former president of the AAOMA, our national organization. It lays out his vision of our future. The way he sees it, we will all be Doctors, and we will be working at Whole Foods and Costco doing "Occupational Medicine". He says we'll have to give up our language of liver qi stagnation and Five Elements, and learn to communicate properly. (Quickest way to dismantle a culture is to take away its language). This is surely a vision borrowed from China's Cultural Revolution, when the medicine was stripped of its more profound aspects and Barefoot Doctors were created. They practiced Occupational Medicine, their skills were directed at getting workers back on the factory floor as quickly as possible, just as we will be doing at Costco.

So I think we need not worry about the outcomes of engagement with the insurance industry. Our own leadership is doing just fine, it has already envisioned the dismantling of our culture!

Please help acupuncture in maintaining it's spirit and unique culture..... Spread the word about community acupuncture! Tell your friends about us and what we are doing to keep health care sane and accessible.

Acupuncture improves sex drive and decreases hot flashes

2010-01-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a brief article attesting to the power of acupuncture to help reduce hot flashes in women as well as improve sex drive!

It's well worth checking out, especially if you, or someone you knows suffers from low sex drive or hot flashes and is fighting breast cancer.

Here is a snippet from the article:
"A recent study conducted by Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan revealed that acupuncture has even more benefits than previously thought for patients with breast cancer. In addition to reducing hot flashes better than drug therapy, acupuncture is effective at boosting the sex drive and overall sense of well-being in women undergoing intensive breast cancer treatment."

http://www.NaturalNews.com/028044_acupuncture_sex_drive.html

P.S. Mike, the creator of Natural News has tons of other article to browse on health related topics. Once on his site, you can sign up for his free E-newsletter.

Vaccines for the Flu?

2009-10-29T16:44:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about whether or not I think the flu vaccine is a good idea. So, I am posting here an email I just sent to a friend on this topic.

But, be warned! I am not a doctor. I'm just a reasonably well educated person who reads a lot.

So follow my advice (or not) at your own risk!

"Well, I'm against the vaccine. What I've read, is that it typically doesn't stop people from getting the flu, just lessens the severity a little. With all the anecdotal evidence out there that the adjuvants in the the vaccines, like thimerosal and squalene, can cause lots of damage in some kids, I'm dubious.

I'd rather my kids get immunity the good old fashion way without the mercury additives. That's my very biased and "non medical degree" view of it. I know vaccines have done lots of good in general, but I think the "disease theory" focus of our medical system is profit motivated. Did you hear about the doctor at Penn, Dr. Paul Offit, who is on the board of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (and other organizations like that) who also holds the patent on one of the vaccines he oversees on the board? He reaped something like $30 million in royalties. How can that guy be unbiased? Here are some links to info on him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Offit

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/25/vaccine-doctor-given-at-least-30-million-dollars-to-push-vaccines.aspx

http://www.wellnesschiropractic.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1254770291&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

I think a better plan is good education about nutrition, supplements, etc. and taking time out from our busy, stressful lives to get some rest when we get sick (and before we get sick!). As long as we focus people's attention on the boogaboo germs and the magic bullets to treat them, then folks don't have to deal with their own habits regarding their health. Of course then people like us who seem to be doing a good job in that regard still get sick. So, I don't know in the end, what the right answer is. It would be great to never get sick, but the data I've seen is that over the last decade, in spite of the fact that flu vaccination rates are way up, the rate of infection with flu has not gone down. It's actually gone up. So, how can it be helping? In the end, I think flu shots are bogus. I've had many patients tell me they got the flu shot and then got sick any way."

And this from Failblog sums it all up:

http://failblog.org/2009/10/06/innoculation-fail/

And finally, this from About.com on why the flu shot is not always effective in the first place:

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa011604a.htm

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COLD, SEASONAL FLU & H1N1 SYMPTOMS

2009-10-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

This is some really helpful information to help discern what kind of bug you might have if you get sick this fall. Keep this info handy to help you decide what the best course of treatment might be. And remember, healthy eating, exercise, hand washing, acupuncture treatment, 5,000 IU vitamin D3, vitamin C, and LOTS of fresh water are the best ways to stay healthy and avoid getting sick in the first place! If you start getting a cold, "Cold Snap" is a great way to beat it quick! I sell it in the office for $20 a bottle. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COLD, SEASONAL FLU & H1N1 SYMPTOMS

SYMPTOM	COLD	SEASONAL FLU	H1N1
FEVER	Fever is rare with a cold.	Fever is common with the seasonal flu.	Fever is usually present with H1N1 in up to 80% of all flue cases. A temperature of 101°
COUGHING	A hacking, productive (mucus-producing) cough is often present with a cold.	A dry and hacking cough is often present with the seasonal flu.	A non-productive(non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with H1N1 (sometimes referred to as dry cough).*
ACHES	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.	Moderate body aches are common with the seasonal flu.	Severe aches and pains are common with H1N1.*
STUFFY NOSE	Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.	A runny nose is commonly present with the seasonal flu.	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with H1N1.
CHILLS	Chills are uncommon with a cold.	Chills are mild to moderate with the seasonal flu.	60% of people who have H1N1 experience chills.
TIREDNESS	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.	Tiredness is moderate and more likely referred to as a lack of energy with the seasonal flu.	Tiredness is moderate to severe with H1N1.*
SNEEZING	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold	Sneezing is commonly present with the seasonal flu.	Sneezing is not common with H1N1.
SUDDEN SYMPTOMS	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.	Symptons tend to develop over a few days and include flushed face, loss of appetite, dizziness and/or vomiting/nausea. Symptoms usually last 4-7 days, depending on the individual. Diarrhea is common.	H1N1 has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. H1N1 hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains. Symptoms usually last 4-7 days, depending on the individual. Diarrhea is common.
HEADACHE	A headache is fairlyuncommon with a cold.	A headache is fairly common with the seasonal flu.	A headache is very common with H1N1 and present in 80% of cases.*
SORE THROAT	Sore throat is commonly presentwith a cold.	Sore throat is commonly present with the seasonal flu.	Sore throat is notcommonly present with H1N1.
CHEST DISCOMFORT	Chest discomfort ismild to moderate with a cold.	Chest discomfort is moderate with the seasonal flu. *If it turns severe seek medical attention immediately!*	Chest discomfort is often severe with H1N1.

PREVENTION TIPS:
ücough & sneeze into your elbow
üwash hands with soap and warm water for a minimum of 15 -20 seconds. Sing your abc's or happy birthday to you
üuse hand sanitizer when soap & water are not available
üavoid touching eyes, nose or mouth without washing or using hand sanitizer first

Acupuncture for Kids?

2009-04-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a video from ABC News about the use of acupuncture for kids:

Scientific evidence of Acupuncture Meridians

2009-04-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a fascinating article in Acupuncture Today that explains the exciting discovery of what are called Bonghan channels. Bonghan channels, named after their original discoverer, appear to be the first physiological structures that correlate to the acupuncture meridian pathways that have been used by acupuncturists for thousands of years.

The article is very technical, but explains in fascinating detail several theories about how acupuncture works....and why it works so well with so few side effects.

Acupuncture Today
April, 2009, Vol. 11, Issue 04

Bonghan Channels in Acupuncture
By David Milbradt, LAc

As a practicing acupuncturist, I find that I continually wonder how a few well-placed needles can have such transformative results in my patients. Over the past 10 years I have read explanations that vary from the vague and mystical idea that the needles move qi in the meridians to scientific explanations where the effects of acupuncture stimulus are explained entirely by its influence on the nervous system. I read all of these theories with interest, but somehow they do not quite explain the day-to- day changes that I see in my clinic. Most of these theories seem limited and tend to restrict or underestimate the diversity of healing responses that I see in my patients.

Recently, however, a number of scientific papers have been published that have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of how acupuncture works. A group of Korean researchers have rediscovered threadlike microscopic anatomical structures that correspond with the layout of traditional acupuncture meridians or channels. Acupuncture channels are no longer imaginary lines, but specific anatomical structures that, until now, have not been recognized by current theories of anatomy. These channels have been found inside of blood and lymphatic vessels and they also form networks that overlay internal organs.

The channels are called Bonghan channels after Kim Bonghan, a North Korean who published papers describing them in the 1960s, a decade before acupuncture was introduced to the American public. Although his discoveries were confirmed by the Japanese researchers Fujiwara and Yu in 1967, his work was discounted by other scientists because he never revealed his formula for the staining dye that revealed these structures. Almost 40 years later, Kim's discoveries have been confirmed by a variety of studies with rats, rabbits and pigs. Stereo-microscope photographs and images from transmission electron microscopy in the research papers show assemblies of tubular structures 30 to 100 mm wide (red blood cells are 6-8 mm in diameter)........
click here to read the whole article

Senate Hearing on Preventing Disease, not just Treating it

2009-03-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to some senate hearings regarding health care. Mehmet Oz, Dean Ornish, Mark Hyman and Andrew Weil were talking to the senate about changing the US health system. They want to swicth from treating disease to preventing them. Treatments like teaching people to eat right are endorsed. This is really good news!

http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2009_02_26/2009_02_26.html

Female Heart Attcks

2009-03-04T07:17:00.001-08:00

This info may come in handy and may even save your life (or the life of someone you love). Please feel free to share it!

NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE

This has been passed on from an ER nurse and is the best description of this event that she had ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and send it on!

                  FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial Infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on.
I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since a bout 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, 'Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!'

I lowered the footrest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics .. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then lay down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?'' but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you to know what I learned first hand.

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.
My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before.
It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said ''Call the Paramedics.'' And if you can, take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
  Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER you are a hazard to others on the road.
Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to ca ll the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3.   Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MI's are usually caused   by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.
   Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.
   Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says, if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

**Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends (male & female) you care about!**

Pro Athletes using acupuncture

2009-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

More and more professional athelets are using acupuncture to stay in peak condition.

Just a few examples:

NFL:
James Harrison (Steelers)
Jeremy Shockey (NY)

CYCLING
Taylor Phinney

BASKETBALL:
Shaquile O'Neal

HOCKEY:
Jaromir Jagr

and many, many more.....

Below is some text from an article in Sports Illustrated:

Acupuncture is big on the Steelers.
One night last week, I was with an NBC crew in Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison's home north of Pittsburgh. He was talking about staying in one piece during the physical NFL season, and he said he owed a lot to acupuncture.
Specifically, 314 needles per session, twice a week. That's how many he has stuck into his body, from his head to his feet ... and they're not pin-pricks either. "They're put in there pretty far,'' Harrison said. His story, and the story of other players in the NFL gutting out the season, will be told by Andrea Kremer on our NBC Super Bowl pregame show Sunday, between 1 and 6 p.m. ET.
Harrison said acupuncture has made a dramatic difference in his ability to play the game at a high level. He usually takes the 314 needles on Tuesday and Thursday nights and doesn't feel the full result 'til two days after the sessions. "What it does is get me back to feeling as close as I can to how I felt at the beginning of the season, before I take the normal punishment of a season," he said. He gets the treatment at his home, and several other Steelers show up to get poked along with him.
here's the whole article.... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/01/25/walkup/2.html

By the way, I have no idea why Harrison's practitioner feels the need to use 314 needles. That's just not necessary. I think Harrison is just saying that to scare other pro football players away from using acupuncture in order to keep a competitive edge for himself ; )

Military tries 'battlefield' acupuncture to ease pain

2009-01-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

Here are some highlights from a fabulous article by David Wood in the Baltimore Sun December 11, 2008
Here are some highlight quotes from the article:

Military tries 'battlefield' acupuncture to ease pain

"The technique is proving so successful that the Air Force will begin teaching " battlefield acupuncture" early next year to physicians deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, senior officials will announce tomorrow."

"This is one of the fastest pain attenuators in existence - the pain can be gone in five minutes," said Niemtzow, a physician, acupuncturist and senior adviser to the Air Force surgeon general.

"We get damaged and psychologically troubled people here, and our approach is to turn down their pain, let them relax, get some sleep, and then they can focus on their healing," said Air Force Col. Stephen M. Burns.

"God bless 'em, they've already had too many surgeries and too much pain," he said. "We can knock down that pain so they can begin to get on with their lives."

"Acupuncture has been very helpful for people for whom other treatment has failed,"

Acupuncture "is very well tolerated and there are very few side effects,"

Here is the full article:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.pain11dec11,0,7983851.story

Initial Test Blog

2009-01-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

This is my first blog posting and I'm testing to see how it works.

Here's a very inspirational and moving video to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmkc7JxCc5w

Enjoy!

Dave