We've written about acupuncture before on this blog, in posts linked here. And an article in the current issue of "Acupuncture Today" magazine (May, 2009) discusses -- tangentially -- the use of acupuncture for PTSD. It especially emphasizes the costs savings, particularly when used as a form of pain control (a typical use of traditional acupuncture, known as TCM). Here's a story, though, that shows the human side of acupuncture's worth for a combat veteran.
Recently I met a Marine who was part of a wounded warriors unit. I won't say who he was or where he was located, to protect his privacy, but he had completed several hazardous deployments in Iraq and had come back to the Marine base to continue his service. I happened to learn that he sampled a few modalities from the "complementary and alternative medicine" spectrum we've discussed on this blog before, and one of the therapies he'd tried was acupuncture. I happened to catch him in an unguarded moment, when he had his mind on other things (what amount to pain control, at the time) and I asked him to describe his experience, because I wasn't sure who he'd seen or what type of acupuncture it had been. He described that he'd been interested in checking it out, but that the commanding officer had considered it to be some form of "voodoo," so was pretty much against it. But there was one acupuncturist from the town near the base who was willing to come on base and offer it, and do that for free. So that removed some of the initial barriers to trying it, and the commander okayed it. With those circumstances in mind, I asked him what his experience was like. This is what he said:
"After she stuck me (needled me), I went back out to my truck, and I just sat there, for about an hour and a half, just GLOWING (his words.)." His eyes moistened briefly as he said, "I realized it was the first time I had felt happy in two and a half years," he volunteered, continuing, "I had forgotten what it was it like to feel real joy."
I couldn't leave well enough alone -- I had to track down the acupuncturist he'd seen. I figured out who she was, called her up, she answered the phone, we identified him as the patient in question, and then had a brief conversation about what he'd shared. She told me she had goosebumps from hearing the story, which she hadn't known before, and added, "this is why we do what we do."
With all the lip service -- and, one hopes, quite a bit more than that -- these days being paid to treating combat veterans in more comprehensive ways that meet their needs better, I hope ancient methods will merit due consideration. When I remember this short conversation with the very much moved Marine, it's hard not to appreciate its merits. Neatly, there are several types of acupuncture -- one which specializes in addiction treatment, one which focuses on treating body, mind and spirit, and a general, all-pupose form (along with many others). With many offerings to choose from, and increasingly more research to support its efficacy, acupuncture truly deserves a place at the table in treating the hidden wounds of combat veterans. I have only to remember the glow in this Marine's retelling of his experience to remember why.
