Who is the father of battlefield acupuncture?
Richard C. Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, is a retired Air Force colonel and the military’s first full-time physician acupuncturist.
He established an acupuncture clinic at Andrews Air Force Base. Andrews provides medical acupuncture to military personnel at the Department of Defense, White House, National Naval Medical Center, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He is also the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General.
Dr. Niemtzow may be best known as the developer of “battlefield acupuncture.” He originally conceived this technique as a way to reduce pain as quickly and efficiently as possible through acupuncture in combat and other military situations. Internationally, it is gaining popularity in both military and civilian medical settings. Dr. Niemtzow has taught it to many clinicians, including in Europe and Asia.
Battlefield acupuncture is a type of auricular acupuncture in which needles are inserted into the outer part of the ear. According to Dr. Niemtso, the concept that the ear is connected to every part of the body goes back to the origins of traditional French, German, and Chinese medicine. He says his technique is unique in that it utilizes acupressure points known to influence pain processing in the central nervous system.
The needles that Dr. Niemtso most often uses look like small gold earrings and can stay in your ear for several days or longer. After each application, the patient should walk around for approximately 2 minutes to determine whether any effect on pain is occurring and whether further applications are needed.
According to Dr. Niemtzow, 80 to 90 percent of cases experience symptom relief. Usually immediate. Depending on the length of stimulation and the patient’s medical condition, it can last from a few minutes to several months. He has seen his techniques work for all types of pain, including fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, headaches, and arthritis, and for many patients for whom Western pain medications have failed. It is reported that.
When asked how and why his technique has such an impact, he replied: “We don’t really know yet. The needles may be interfering with pain pathways in the central nervous system, including the brain. Battlefield acupuncture doesn’t work for everyone,” he said. added, “We’ve had a lot of great results, including for people who have been suffering for many years. This makes me happy every day.”
Dr. Niemtso also uses other techniques to stimulate acupuncture points, including lasers, electrical devices, and longer traditional needles. In addition to practicing acupuncture on the battlefield, he is also known for developing acupuncture techniques for tumor patients suffering from dry mouth after chemotherapy and radiation therapy. His other research interests include acupuncture for amblyopic conditions.
“Military personnel, like the general public, are attracted to complementary and alternative medicine. Some believe in it, some don’t,” he answered. “I think demand is increasing. [in the military] Treatment options that do not involve chronic drug use are possible, but care must also be taken in what is offered to patients. Decisions about treatment should be based on evidence from conventional research that we can do to determine whether treatment is worth it, not on feelings or what looks good. ”
Among the future directions for complementary and alternative medicine pain relief he is interested in are intravenous laser acupuncture (a method of shining a laser into the blood), a method currently available in Europe but not in the United States, and small This includes the use of nanotechnology, such as inserting needles. A needle with a built-in electrical stimulator. In his work on NCCAM’s National Advisory Committee, Dr. Niemtso has a particular interest in issues related to the use of CAM in pediatrics and maternity, and in making his CAM education in medical school more widely available. have.
Dr. Niemtzow received his medical degree from the University of Montpellier in France and his Ph.D. He received his PhD in Biological Sciences from Western University of the Pacific and his MPH from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He studied acupuncture at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. His specialty is radiation oncology.
