Photo By Reese Brown | Hospital Director Col. Jason Wieman performs acupuncture on a patient and staff member...... read more read more
Last year, the Army surgeon general released a report addressing the lack of a comprehensive pain-management strategy, suggesting alternative treatments including meditation and yoga.
“This is a nationwide problem,” reads the report. “We’ve got a culture of a pill for every ill.”
Even though some in the medical field maintain that acupuncture has never been proved effective, Belvoir Hospital leadership sees it as one of the more promising alternatives to combat pain.
“Treating pain is one of medicine's oldest and most fundamental responsibilities, yet modern medicine continues to struggle in its efforts to understand pain mechanisms and to relieve pain and suffering of our patients,” said Col. Jason Wieman, hospital director and a family medicine physician trained in acupuncture. “Our active-duty patients have to be prepared to deploy. Their family members need to be able to hold down the home front with children, jobs and other responsibilities. We certainly want to find an alternative to help them out, to eliminate or reduce their use of pain medication.”
Acupuncture, he said, has few side effects and no apparent drug interactions, and it works quickly — allowing some patients with pain to return to normal activities faster.
Derived from traditional Chinese medicine in which fine needles, heat, or pressure is applied in precise points on the body, acupuncture is a form of therapy that stimulates the body’s natural healing mechanisms,” explained Dr. Virginia Kalish, director of the family medicine geriatric clinic at Belvoir Hospital.
“The United States developed an enthusiasm towards acupuncture in 1971 when James Reston, a writer for the New York Times, reported on his experience with acupuncture for the treatment of post-operative pain after he required an emergency appendectomy in China. Of course, acupuncture is an ancient Chinese means of healing, and has been practiced in many Asian countries for thousands of years,” she said. “The Chinese say that acupuncture stimulates or releases “qi”, the body’s energy. Western medical research has discovered multiple mechanisms in which acupuncture may induce its effect to include stimulating the body’s endorphins, excite the nervous system and brain activity, and promote blood flow to effected regions.”
While there is currently limited availability for full body acupuncture at Belvoir Hospital, a form of auricular (ear) acupuncture widely performed in the military and civilian sector known as ‘Battlefield Acupuncture’ is offered by multiple physicians in the Family Medicine Clinic, said Dr. Virginia Kalish, director of the family medicine geriatric clinic at Belvoir Hospital. “The ear is a microcosm reflection of the entire body. The entire body has been mapped out on the ear.”
Acupuncture is most commonly used for chronic pain syndromes, to include back pain, neck pain, and headache. Not only can acupuncture induce analgesia, it may also have a favorable effect on mood, anxiety, and insomnia. Some patients obtain treatments for organ dysfunction, for example, gastroesophageal reflux. Acupuncture can and should be used in combination with other treatments and should not delay appropriate work-up or additional treatment, Kalish said, adding “there is no age limit for acupuncture.”
Most conditions require multiple treatments and are usually developed based on the patient’s symptoms and response to treatment. Treatments are generally not painful; needles often are not felt going in. However some acupuncture points can be painful to needle. Typically, treatments are relaxing and patients have a sense of well-being or even renewed energy afterwards, explained Kalish.
“Acupuncture really works,” concluded Wieman. “I’ve used it personally, and even in my current position, I treat an average of a dozen patients per week with acupuncture. It’s a great tool for pain-relief and a great asset for our providers to have at their disposal.”
If you’re interested in receiving acupuncture, talk to your PCM.
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2017 12:46 |
| Story ID: | 222030 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 387 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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