Note that the two MD's here are just two of the forty MD's the USAF
has on staff that are trained as L.Ac's.  Results?  Pretty darn good!

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,164071,00.html

Battlefield Acupuncture Introduced
Air Force Print News | March 14, 2008
LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, Germany - A medical procedure
dating back thousands of years was introduced to patients and medical
staff for one week in March at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

A limited form of acupuncture, called battlefield acupuncture, was
introduced to LRMC doctors who applied the procedure to war-wounded
servicemembers and local patients for pain relief, and often with
significant results.

Major (Dr.) Conner Nguyen was exposed to acupuncture as both a patient
and physician and was equally impressed in both roles. As a patient,
Major Nguyen experienced 25 percent increased range of motion and a 50
percent reduction in pain for chronic shoulders and upper back pain he
endured for several years.

As a pain physician specialist at LRMC, Major Nguyen recruited his
most challenging patients with whom traditional pain treatment offered
limited relief. Within minutes of the short golden studs inserted on
their ears, many said they enjoyed a pain reduction of up to 75
percent.

A reduction of 25 percent would be considered a success with
traditional pain medications, Major Nguyen said. In one case, a
patient broke into tears when the severe pain he had been suffering
from for more than a year subsided within moments.

When the military acupuncturists who introduced battlefield
acupuncture return to conduct the follow-up certification training
required to practice ancient form of medicine, Major Nguyen will be
among the list of LRMC physicians desiring to add acupuncture as
another tool in their medical kit.

"It allows a provider like me to confidently complete a treatment and
expect a good result within minutes," Major Nguyen said. Other
advantages he noted are virtually no significant complications,
patients are subjected to little or no discomfort, and immediate
results that can be "quite spectacular sometimes."

Major Nguyen received his interim hands-on training during the
weeklong visit by Col. (Dr.) Stephen Burns and Col. (Dr.) Richard
Niemtzow, two of the 40 Department of Defense doctors trained as a
licensed acupuncturist.

Colonel Niemtzow developed and named the battlefield acupuncture
technique in 2001. It is a radical departure from classical Chinese,
French and German ear acupuncture. He said he realized its possible
military value and the events of the World Trade Center influenced him
to name it battlefield acupuncture.

As an Air Force acupuncturist, Colonel Niemtzow has trained hundreds
of his military counterparts. Battlefield acupuncture focuses on
locations on the ear that he said have been known for hundreds of
years as effective areas for pain control. The ear is also practical
because it can be readily accessed whether on the battlefield or in a
hospital bed.

Acupuncture can also be a practical means for treating pain in the
military, he said, in instances such as a Soldier who develops a
migraine headache at the onset of a mission. Where pain medication
could cloud the mind and compromise the mission, acupuncture could
offer long-lasting relief within minutes.

Introducing acupuncture to doctors trained in traditional Western
medicine often meets with raised eyebrows, but the reception is
warming.

"In the beginning, many people were skeptical, but after seeing it
demonstrated on patients and the benefits achieved -- especially in
the area of pain -- the majority of physicians embraced it and learned
how to use it in their practice as an adjunctive therapy," said
Colonel Niemtzow, who is the consultant for alternative and
complimentary medicine to the Air Force surgeon general.

The ancient form of medicine was readily received at LRMC, said Col.
(Dr.) Stephen Princiotta, the deputy commander for clinical services
here.

"The doctors who saw it in action and heard about it have been very
excited about the opportunity to add acupuncture as an adjunctive
therapy to what we already have been able to accomplish with western
medicine," Colonel Princiotta said.

One LRMC doctor previously trained under Colonel Niemtzow as well as
well attending the Helms Medical Institute at the University of
California in Los Angeles for an additional 300 hours of acupuncture
training. Maj. (Dr.) Teri Simpson is an anesthesiologist by trade, but
uses acupuncture one day a week at the LRMC pain clinic with great
success.

"I love it," Major Simpson said. "It can be life-changing when the
patient responds immediately and looks at you like you're a
magician."

Major Simpson said she tells them she doesn't completely understand
how it works but is always happy to see a patient break into a smile
who was in misery only minutes before.

In addition to using the small studs that resemble a small pierced
earring, Major Simpson uses the longer needles more commonly
associated with acupuncture. The frequency of application and the
duration of relief vary with each patient, but treatment can progress
from about two times a week to as little as once a month or longer. In
some cases, further acupuncture treatment may not be required.

Acupuncture doesn't work for all of her patients; however. About 15
percent do not respond to acupuncture, Major Simpson said, but of the
patients that do, their pain reduction often averages about 75
percent.

One of those patients was Army Spc. Bradley Phillips, an Army scout
whose back pain while deployed to Iraq increased to the point where he
required treatment at LRMC. Specialist Phillips, a 21 year old with
the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas, had
successfully received acupuncture treatment before by an Army medic
and enthusiastically agreed to for the opportunity to be a part of the
battle acupuncture program.

Specialist Phillips said he preferred acupuncture because it allowed
him to avoid taking pain medications and their side effects. As Major
Simpson applied two studs in his left ear and five in his right, as
well as a few probes into his lower back with a longer needle,
Specialist Phillips' pain slowly eased away.

"While I'm just standing here I feel a lot better," he said. In
addition, the young Soldier edged the closest he'd been to touching
his toes in six months.

For Senior Airman Jillian Sandbothe, traditional pain medication could
never ease the headaches and upper back pain resulting from whiplash
caused by a rear-end collision last April.

"It was amazing," she said of her initial acupuncture treatment that
provided total relief from her headache. "I couldn't believe it the
first time it happened. I could almost function like a normal person
again."

Studs used for battlefield acupuncture barely penetrate the skin and
fall out in about three days. When that occurred, her headaches
returned and Airman Sandbothe arrived at the LRMC pain clinic for
follow-up treatment. As before, the pain diminished as Simpson plied
her acupuncture craft.

"I don't know how it works and I don't really care as long it keeps
working," said Airman Sandbothe, who is assigned to the 52nd Component
Maintenance Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.