Joe Knight, a military veteran from West Haven, Conn., started drinking again after opiate painkillers were no longer available to manage his pain. Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) has provided new opportunities to relieve pain and enjoy life.
Ms. Knight, 50, experiences joint pain that is typical of older people. For many years, he suffered from debilitating pain from injuries and surgeries to his wrist and shoulder. “I was drinking two-fifths of a vodka a day for probably 60 days straight to relieve the pain. I had been abstinent from alcohol for 10 years,” he said.
He had developed diabetes and weighed 357 pounds. His drinking also contributed to the divorce. “My hopes are gone,” he added.
The Knight, Conn., Virginia, patient was referred to BFA, a type of otic (ear) acupuncture, by medical director Dr. Daniel Federman. At his first appointment, he was honest about his pain and what he was doing to relieve it. Federman recommended BFA. Knight wasn’t sure if it would work, but was willing to try anything.
Looking forward to acupuncture treatment
Knight immediately felt a sense of relief. “I was on a cloud. By Sunday I realized I didn’t need anything, including the painkillers Tylenol and Ibuprofen,” he said. He began to look forward to his BFA sessions, knowing that his pain would subside by the end of the week and that any return of pain between sessions would be temporary. The sessions were held in a group setting with other veterans, and Knight also enjoyed the camaraderie.
battlefield acupuncture
“Everything has changed now,” Knight said. He improved his diet, started exercising and was able to reduce his weight by 123 pounds. He enjoys gardening, woodworking, and caring for his loved ones without much pain.
As part of our Whole Health approach to care, many veterans find pain relief through BFA. According to Dr. Juli Olson, BFA requires inserting her five to 10 tiny needles around the ear, and the theory is that the entire body and all its functions are represented by different points on the ear. That’s it.
Differences in battlefield acupuncture
Olson is a chiropractor and acupuncturist in the Central Iowa VA and a national leader in acupuncture in VA.
“In traditional acupuncture, every time you insert a needle into your body, it affects the tissues immediately there and then has distant effects throughout your nervous system. With battlefield acupuncture, most people’s pain is “It’s not the ear, so there’s no local effect. We’re using these distant effects,” she said.
There may be some mild discomfort initially, but on average, BFA reduces pain levels by two points, and sometimes more, Olson said.
According to Federman, BFA provides sufficient pain relief and can avoid or reduce the need for addictive prescription drugs. For pain, “I start with traditional topical treatments, physical therapy, Tylenol, and sometimes nonsteroidal treatments. If that doesn’t work, I often recommend battlefield acupuncture.” she added.
The experience of the Sandy Hook vigil changed his opinion.
Federman was once skeptical of complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies such as BFA. That changed due to his own experience with “comfort dogs.” He was a resident of Newtown, Conn., and the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School claimed the lives of 26 people, including 20 of his children. He knew families who had lost their children, and seeing their suffering was painful and he himself became desperate.
“I’ve always been an evidence-based person,” Federman said. “But at the wake, I talked to this woman who had brought a healing dog. I petted the dog, not expecting anything. Something happened to me that I can’t quite put into words. This A feeling washed over me. It really healed me. At that moment, I thought, “Maybe I don’t have to live only with evidence-based medicine.”
This experience led Federman to begin exploring CIH treatments for his patients. He conducted his own research on BFA and its use on veterans and found that 82% of participants felt pain relief.
Once BFA and other treatments reduce pain, Olson says, people can start focusing on other important aspects of their health. “We found that BFA can be a catalyst for improving overall well-being,” she said.
Learn more about Whole Health and CIH treatments.
