Battlefield Acupuncture

June 11, 9:52 PMMilitary Health ExaminerKaren Estrada

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It was recently announced that the U.S. Air Force will begin training physicians being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in battlefield acupuncture. This particular treatment uses small needles in the skin of the ear to block pain in as few as five minutes and can last for several days or longer. The procedure was initially introduced in 2008 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), where it was applied to wounded service members and local patients for pain relief, with significant results.

 Statistics: One of the pain specialists at LRMC personally experienced (treated for chronic shoulder/upper back pain, endured for years): 25 % increased range of motion, 50 % reduction in pain.As a result, this pain specialist recruited his most challenging patients, for whom traditional pain treatment had offered limited relief. Within minutes of the needles being inserted, many said their pain was reduced by up to 75 %.A 25 % reduction would be considered a success with traditional pain medications.Despite its name, battlefield acupuncture is not purposely designed to replace standard medical care for war-related injuries, but rather to assist in pain relief and in many cases eliminate the need for pain medication for acute and chronic pain. The frequency of application and the duration of relief vary with each patient, but treatment can progress from about two times a week to as little as once a month or longer. In some cases, further acupuncture treatment may not be required.

Benefits: This treatment, allows a health care provider to confidently complete a treatment  with anticipated good result within minutes.Has virtually no complications and patients are subjected to little or no discomfort.

Approximately 15 percent of patients do not respond to this acupuncture procedure, but of those who do, their pain reduction often averages > 75%. 

For more information on Acupuncture: MedlinePlus: Acupuncture

 Clinical Trials for Acupuncture/Veterans: Examining the Effect of Acupuncture on Sleep Difficulties Related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  The purpose of this study is to examine if group ear acupuncture improves Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder sleep difficulties among veterans who participated in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This study also will examine the degree of veteran acceptance for a group ear acupuncture procedure (not yet recruiting).

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00868517

• Contact: Bonnie B Benetato,  (202) 745-8000 ext 7124 bonnie.benetato@va.gov
• Locations:  VA Medical Center, DC  Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20422

Assessment of Acupuncture to Improve Function, Exercise Capacity, and Pain

The purpose of this research proposal is to conduct a feasibility study to determine the viability a larger efficacy study of combined acupuncture treatments plus treadmill exercise to decrease pain, facilitate exercise, and improve function in Veterans with chronic low back pain (CLBP) (Currently recruiting).  ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00502619

• Baltimore VAMC,  Maryland, United States, 21201
• Contact: Robert A. Lavin, M.D.     410-605-7448     robert.lavin@va.gov   
• Principal Investigator: Robert A Lavin, M.D.           
• Sponsors and Collaborators
• VA Maryland Health Care System
• Samueli Institute for Information Biology

Periosteal Stimulation for Knee Osteoarthritis (PST)

180 veterans with chronic knee pain and advanced knee osteoarthritis will be recruited to participate in this study designed to test the effectiveness of a special type of electrical acupuncture called periosteal stimulation (PST) (not yet recruiting). ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00865046

• Contact: Lisa Gaston  (412) 954-4920  
• VA Pittsburgh Health Care System
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15240
• Sponsors and Collaborators
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Principal Investigator:    Debra K. Weiner, MD     VA Pittsburgh Health Care System

 A Study to Evaluate the Role of Alternative Medicine in Difficult to Treat GERD Patients

Patients with refractory GERD on BID PPI's assigned to the acupuncture group will have significant improvement in their symptoms after receiving acupuncture for 6 weeks as compared to sham acupuncture given for the same duration. (GERD is Gastroesophageal reflux disease) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00591877

• Contact: April Higbee, RN    816 861 4700 ext 57456 april.higbee@va.gov
• Locations: Kansas city VA Medical center    Recruiting
• Kansas city, Missouri, United States, 64128
• Contact: April Higbee, RN     816-861-4700 ext 57456     april.higbee@va.gov