Walter Reed patients manage their pain through acupuncture

[Celebration]

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=34845&archive=true

“We do end up having to give patients some education along with the treatments,” said Gamble, chief of Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Amputee Clinic and one of several acupuncturists on staff. “Often patients only know a little about it. But most of ours have been receptive, and we’ve seen good results with their pain management.”

Since the 1980s, specialists at Walter Reed have been using acupuncture as an alternative treatment approach, using needles and an intricate knowledge of the nervous system to help certain patients manage chronic pain.

.........snip...............

“The same thing doesn’t work for everyone all the time,” said Niemtzow, editor of several acupuncture medical journals. “I had a patient (injured in Iraq) who we used the ear needles on, and it didn’t help him at all.

“When he came back, he said, ‘Don’t bother with my ears.’ Instead we tried rubbing his hands with some metal plates. Five minutes later, he said he felt much better.”

[Minnesota Libra]

1. I personally to know that manipulation of the nervous system............

....through "acupuncture" and a "T.E.N.S" unit indeed controls pain. Each person is different so what works for one person may not even touch another person but THANK GOODNESS both "acupuncture" and "T.E.N.S" can be individualized. A "T.E.N.S" unit truly gave me my "quality of life" back.

[Orrex]

2. Nice anecdotes

Unfortunately, there's no discussion of the mechanism of pain relief, and of course there's no evidence provided outside of a few second-hand testimonials, which have no experimental value.

[Warpy]

5. Here ya go:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4631930.stm

Acupuncture is one of the alternatives that works really well, although I've personally found it better on acute pain than chronic pain.

Phantom limb pain has been one of the most difficult types to treat since it originates within the brain. It's easy to see how acupuncture would help it where even high dose opiates fail.

I'm glad the VA is using it. I was there for trials 20 years ago to investigate what it actually did and did not do.

[trotsky]

6. Wasn't there a study with mirrors and phantom limb pain?

That somehow by projecting the image of the limb being there, the brain was able to figure out not to feel the pain anymore?

[Warpy]

8. I didn't hear about that one, so it must not have worked all that well

They did finally figure out what causes it, a lack of information coming in to an area of the brain that processes general sensation. Starved of incoming neurotransmitters, the brain just creates its own, telling a person to check that arm/leg fast because it's not getting any messages any more. Eventually those cells grow new connections to other cells and find another job to do, but it can be miserable in the meantime. Opiates are unsatisfactory because most people really don't want to sleep their lives away, and that's what sufficient doses do to them.

If acupuncture works on it, that's really great.

[trotsky]

7. Accupuncture does seem to work, but...

it does so through completely mundane means. Sending different signals through the nervous system. We know for a fact though that it does NOT work by adjusting "energy" or anything like that, so in that regard you're completely right.

[HuckleB]

9. Umm.

Regarding mechanism, it's unclear in many practices used in hospitals and outpatient clinics every day. It's not a reason to poo poo acupuncture.

As for mere second hand testimonials...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=18130

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=38701

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=29670

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=28269

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=27152

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=21464

[Orrex]

10. sigh

The reason to poo-poo acupuncture--that is, acupuncture wherein the practitioner purports to affect one's chi--is that "chi" has never been demonstrated to exist. Never. Not ever. I'm sorry, but that's a fact.

If you can cite the verifited, peer-reviewed, clinical study that proves the existence of chi, please do so, and I will happily recant.

Lacking such a study, please refrain from suggesting that acupuncture is of any value in balancing or improving or correcting one's "chi."

For the record, of course, I have repeatedly acknowledged that some studies do suggest that acupuncture can assist in pain management, likely through the release of endorphins or by altering nerve conductivity, but that's entirely different from the claim that "chi" is involved.

You're also drawing a false analogy between proven-but-poorly-understood-mechanisms (such as occur in hospitals and outpatient clinics every day) and never-proven-and-not-at-all-understood-mechanisms (such as acupuncture, reiki, and the like).

[HuckleB]

11. Way to obfuscate the issue.

Who gives a rat's arse about chi? Nobody here does. Sorry, but plenty of MDs use the equivalent of chi in their practices, as they converse with patients. It's called placebo. They know it often helps relieve symptoms. Unless you're going to rant about that, your rant about chi is worthless. Your decision to offer some context in this post, regarding the usefulness of acupuncture, does nothing to justify your first post, offered with no context whatsoever -- especially in light of the fact that others had to offer reports on studies first. Further, poorly understood mechanisms translates to guesses, not to proof. And many of those poorly understand mechanisms are practically not understood in any way that allows anything more than a coffee house conversation guess. And, sorry, but that ain't jack.

[Dancing_Dave]

3. The dynamics of Asian energy medicine DO work!

I've seen it myself manytimes. It's related to biofeedback, it's a way of raising our own consciousness about energetic processes going on in our bodies.

[longship]

4. Other experimental methods being tried.

They built a big crop circle on the front lawn with a lawn mower. Twenty-six percent of the patients inside said that their pain was reduced. So, the hospital immediately started plans for bigger and more crop circles in the neighborhood surrounding the hospital in the hopes that they could increase the percentages.

With such success, the hospital has reduced their pain killer orders by 26% and hopes that more crop circles will result in significantly more savings in the future.

Hospital spokespersons state that the are looking at other alternative pain control methods. One of the more innovative ones is a helmet made out of Mu metal which should shunt alien pain rays away from the brain's pain centers.
:sarcasm: