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Pentagon's New Painkiller: Ancient Chinese Medicine

Military doctors will start training medics in 'battlefield acupressure'

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(Newser) – US Air Force doctors deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan next year will have a new medical weapon in their arsenal: acupuncture. Military physicians, pleased with the success of treating wounded troops at home, will begin teaching battlefield medics how to fight severe or chronic pain by inserting tiny needles under soldiers’ skin, the Baltimore Sun reports.

“This is one of the fastest pain attenuators in existence,” a surgeon said, adding that relief lasts for days. Doctors tap five points on the ear, interrupting signals headed for the brain. The ancient Chinese technique cannot replace morphine in combat, but it will help some patients avoid it and other psychotropic drugs known to cause side effects, allergies, and addiction.

Acupuncture is
Acupuncture is "one of the fastest pain attenuators in existence," a military surgeon says.   (AP Photo)
By putting needles under the skin in five places on the ear, doctors can interrupt signals headed for the brain.
By putting needles under the skin in five places on the ear, doctors can interrupt signals headed for the brain.   (AP Photo)
"We use acupuncture as an adjunct" to traditional therapy, says a US Air Force physician. "The Chinese have used it for 5,000 years. It works, and it's powerful."   (Getty Images)
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military • chronic pain • acupuncture • alternative medicine • US Air Force

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