Battlefield Acupuncture 

I recently came across an article that discussed the use of acupuncture for pain relief in combat settings I started to think about why the military would adopt a technique that still receives scorn from some sectors of the scientific community. The answer that I came up with is that, the military uses what works. They couldn’t care less about double blind studies and all the peer reviewed blah blah blah that seem so important to the medical community. If something works, they are going to use it!

If you think about it, some of the biggest advances in medical history have been made by the military. Unfortunately, during wars, there are many soldiers that need healing and often from traumatic injuries. So, the book goes out the window and new and innovative techniques are utilized to help save lives. The fact that the military is using this ancient technique to help with pain syndromes speaks to it efficacy. Not only that, but these techniques can be used in the field.

Another example of this is the use of a substance called Yunnan Baiyao by Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam war. This is a powder that stops bleeding, along with a small pill that helps with internal bleeding. In China, it has a reputation equal to that of penicillin. American soldiers found that Vietnamese soldiers carried this and it was so effective at stopping bleeding that many Americans started carrying it themselves. Beyond its hemostatic effects, the powder is said to promote healing.

Injuries and pain are unfortunately a fact of life for the military and given the fact that military doctors are taking advantage of this age-old medicine, shows that it is a pretty clear that acupuncture and oriental medicine works. If you are dealing with a painful condition, contact us today for a consultation to find out if there is something that we can do to help.