Battlefield acupuncture which generally plays a pivotal role in case of treating back pain and providing an ever lasting solution to the back related problem is basically a procedure that was adapted from ancient Chinese therapy. The process of Acupuncture therapy alters as well as modifies the energy flow of the body in patients who can then become comparatively healthier. Lastly while discussing the topic acupuncture for back pain it is more than essential to mention that while there is really no definitive way to resolve lower back pain, the world wide use of acupuncture as related to lower back pain is known to have dramatically increased in the past few decades.

With the introduction of the battlefield acupuncture, the soldiers are now treated with this latest acupuncture process in order to minimize the pain.  Niemtzow performed extremely well in providing the acupuncture service at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.  He was then appointed as a full time acupuncturist at the Navy.  He showed his expertise by serving the patients with the latest invention.

The tiny and thin needles are pushed lightly on different points on the skin of the ear and then they are operated scientifically by the acupuncturists to stop the easy channelization of the pain signals to the brain.  Within a couple of minutes the patients realize that they are fully out of danger. Lastly as per the statement of Col. Arnyce Pock, who is a very famous medical practitioner, battlefield acupuncture is free of side effects. This means there will be no sign or negative symptoms after undergoing the treatment. Patients will have no kind physical discomfort after being administered this treatment process. The researchers are very hopeful that in near future Niemtzow battlefield acupuncture treatment will spread extensively due to its simplistic treatment process.  During a battle, soldiers generally have no time to retreat from the war field. Therefore, during that short time, this type of treatment is extremely useful.

According to the views held by researchers there is no known definite way which can resolve the back problem related issues.  Thus Acupuncture has to go a long way in solving the back problem related issues. The importance or rather the significance of Acupuncture treatment is known to have increased in the last few decades. The importance of Acupuncture treatments (like battlefield acupuncture) is estimated to increase every day. It is worth mentioning that placebo controlled studies have validated battlefield acupuncture as a reliable method of pain relief therapy. The process is not only a reliable form of therapy but it is cost effective as well as safe. There is a notion that the cure therapy or the positive outcome can last for a near about period of six months. The duration of the positive outcome in many a case is also known to last for a period of more than six months. Moreover, the utility of Acupuncture can be extended in case of the patients who are known to experience sleep disturbances. Thus, to conclude acupuncture for back pain is a topic that needs more detailed research as well as study.

The main difference that exists between Acupuncture and acupressure lies in the specific application of the techniques. It is always recommended that any practitioner who is experienced in TCM must perform Acupuncture. In this type of treatment technique more than one pressure points are generally known to be accessed at nearly the same time. On the contrary, acupressure is a topic that can definitely be learned with the help of a handbook. It is a fact worth mentioning that acupressure can be termed as a much older form of treatment technique as compared to acupuncture. The main advantage of acupressure over acupuncture lies in the fact that this form of treatment produces lesser or no side effects. This treatment process is similar to a profound tissue rub down.

Dr. Niemtzow first introduced this medical procedure with the sole purpose of curing the wounded soldiers who have been injured during war in the battlefield.  It has been specially upgraded so as to provide the instant relaxation from the severe back spasm and ear pain. The Air Force has been chosen by the American government for starting a new training program for the elimination of pain with the administration of the battlefield acupuncture. According to the healthcare consultants and Niemtzow himself, it is much more effective in reducing the shoulder pain within a couple of minutes by preventing the pain signals from reaching the brain.  The short and delicate needles are used to slightly penetrate into the skin below the ear fir blocking the pain signals to rush to the brain. A team of acupuncturists were sent to Iraq during the Gulf war for the treatment of American soldiers and the American nationals who were trapped in the war prone areas and were heavily injured due to frequent bombardment or from stray bullets or missile attacks.

However there is a myth regarding the true effectiveness of this type of acupuncture. Some claim that soldiers should be treated scientifically and only the best treatment should be offered to them. According to such experts, acupuncture is a pseudoscience. Therefore it must not be applied to the soldiers as a mechanism of pain relief. However, researchers have strongly refuted their arguments and decided to start training institutes to provide expert training to practitioners on this newly invented acupuncture treatment process.

As per the recent official declaration, the American Air Force has been served a notice by the American higher authority directing the officials to train the physicians and the medical practitioners of the Air Force on pushing acupuncture treatment into the body of the patient in severe pain.  This new medical process was first launched by the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. This new treatment called battlefield acupuncture was applied to the injured soldiers who suffered the brunt of ear pain and back pain.  Short needles were used for puncturing the skin of the ear in order to bringing down pain within a time frame of five minutes. The pain was gone and the patients were relieved. 50% back ache reduction occurred in the due course of time. The chronic pain in the shoulder nosedived up to 25% within short span of time after the application of this newly invented technique.

After extensive research, the experts have confirmed that this acupuncture treatment process is not only competent but it also provides quick results for patients – reducing severe pain.  It is also capable of providing a longer lasting impact compared to conventional treatment. Richard Niemtzow is a very competent medical practitioner and researcher who has claimed that this treatment is now the best alternative medium for relief from back aches and severe back spasm. According to the researchers, acupuncture actually blocks the supply line of pain signals going to the brain.

“The Air Force will begin teaching ‘battlefield acupuncture‘ early next year to physicians deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan,” reports the Baltimore Sun’s David Wood. “The initiative marks the first high-level endorsement of acupuncture by the traditionally conservative military medical community, officials said.”

Using tiny needles that barely penetrate the skin of a patient’s ear, Air Force doctors here say they can interrupt pain signals going to the brain … reliev[ing] even unbearable pain for days at a time….

 

“This is one of the fastest pain attenuators in existence — the pain can be gone in five minutes,” said Col. Richard Niemtzow, a physician, acupuncturist and senior adviser to the Air Force surgeon general.

Niemtzow, an oncologist, also sees acupuncture as a way to treat obesity and macular degeneration.

Meanwhile, other Eastern-inspired techniques are slowly spreading throughout the services. Walter Reed hospital is using yoga to combat PTSD. Submariners and Camp Lejeune marines are using “Warrior Mind Training” to improve mental focus. And the Army is spending $4 million to study various alternative-therapies, including a research project that examines “how holding and petting an animal can treat PTSD.”

The technique developed by Richard Niemtzow, editor-in-chief of Medical Acupuncture, has been so successful that the USAF will begin teaching ‘Battlefield Acupuncture’ to physicians deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan in early 2009. ‘Battlefield Acupuncture’ can relieve severe, long lasting pain.

Based on modern neurophysiological concepts, Niemtzow developed a variation of acupuncture that involves inserting very tiny semi-permanent needles into very specific points in the skin on the ear to block pain signals from reaching the brain.

This method can lessen the need for pain medications that may cause adverse or allergic reactions or addiction, said an USAF release.

‘This is one of the fastest pain attenuators in existence,’ said Niemtzow, a consultant for complementary and alternative medicine for the Surgeon General of the Air Force, and is affiliated with Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda.

‘The pain can be gone in five minutes,’ he added.

While he was recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, his doctor suggested he add acupuncture to his treatment to help with the pain.

On a recent morning, Col. Richard Niemtzow, an Air Force physician, carefully pushed a short needle into part of Smith’s outer ear. The soldier flinched, saying it felt like he “got clipped by something.” By the time three more of the tiny, gold-alloy needles were arranged around the ear, though, the pain from his injuries began to ease.

“My ribs feel numb now and I feel it a little less in my hand,” Smith said, raising his injured arm. “The pain isn’t as sharp. It’s maybe 50 percent better.”

Acupuncture involves placing very thin needles at specific points on the body to try to control pain and reduce stress. There are only theories about how, why and even whether it might work.

Regardless, the ancient Chinese practice has been gradually catching on as a pain treatment for troops who come home wounded.

Now the Air Force, which runs the military’s only acupuncture clinic, is training doctors to take acupuncture to the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. A pilot program starting in March will prepare 44 Air Force, Navy and Army doctors to use acupuncture as part of emergency care in combat and in front-line hospitals, not just on bases back home.

They will learn “battlefield acupuncture,” a method Niemtzow developed in 2001 that’s derived from traditional ear acupuncture but uses the short needles to better fit under combat helmets so soldiers can continue their missions with the needles inserted to relieve pain. The needles are applied to five points on the outer ear. Niemtzow says most of his patients say their pain decreases within minutes.

The Navy has begun a similar pilot program to train its doctors at Camp Pendleton in California.

Niemtzow is chief of the acupuncture clinic at Andrews Air Force Base and is leading the new program after training many of about 50 active-duty military physicians who practice acupuncture.

Col. Arnyce Pock, medical director for the Air Force Medical Corps, said acupuncture comes without the side effects common after taking traditional painkillers. Acupuncture also quickly treats pain.

The term battlefield acupuncture was coined by Colonel Niemtzow in 2001. He stated that he became conscious of its benefits to the military workforce after the World Trade Center was bombed in September 11, 2001. In other words, battlefield acupuncture pertains to acupuncture given to those who have been wounded in battlefields. Its effectiveness was attested by a lot of military people.

A few years back, battlefield acupuncture was taught to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center located in Germany. The LMRC doctors tried this limited form of acupuncture (battlefield acupuncture) to military members who got wounded during an encounter as well as to their other non-military patients to relieve pain and got considerable results. A certain Major Conner Nguyen, a military physician, got to experience acupuncture when he himself became a patient, and as a doctor, and was completely overwhelmed. As experienced by Major Nguyen, he got a 50% reduction for his chronic shoulder and upper back pains for which he has suffered for several years. His range of motion was increased by 25%. He tried the therapy to some of his patients and they reported that their pain was lessened by 75%. Amazing though it was, battlefield acupuncture brought relief to wounded servicemen.