Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treated with Acupuncture

Acupuncture Clinic at War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center

Cathy Dimaggio — 2009-06-23T16:24:22-07:00

The WRIISC-DC offers an acupuncture clinic for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) combat veterans.

Acupuncture therapy has been practiced in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,500 years and is now gaining acceptance in western medicine.

Acupuncture is thought to restore overall health by removing energy imbalances throughout the body. During acupuncture therapy, certain points on the body are stimulated by the insertion of fine needles.

In the WRIISC-DC acupuncture clinic, a licensed and experienced acupuncturist cares for the OIF and OEF combat veterans who may be experiencing chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and/or other health concerns. During these sessions, the WRIISC-DC acupuncturist provides individualized acupuncture therapy and uses her educational and clinical training to improve health symptoms and enhance overall quality of life.

In addition to individualized acupuncture sessions, the WRIISC-DC is pleased to announce a weekly OIF/OEF group acupuncture therapy. There are two sessions which are offered on a walk-in basis on each Thursday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 pm. Please try to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the session.

Please contact the WRIISC office at (202) 745-8249 if you are an OIF or OEF veteran and are interested in scheduling an appointment for individual acupuncture sessions or need more inforamtion about acupuncture therapy through the WRIISC Acupuncture clinic.

From:

http://www.va.gov/wriisc-dc/clinical_care/Acupuncture.asp

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Flying High With the Air Force

Cathy Dimaggio — 2009-06-23T16:16:59-07:00

Physicians to be trained in battlefield acupuncture.

The U.S. Air Force has started a first-of-its kind pilot program designed to train its active-duty physicians to provide battlefield acupuncture services, expanding health care services to personnel on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In its Winter 2008 newsletter, the Air Force Medical Corps announced: "The Air Force Surgeon General is pleased to announce a pilot program to train a cadre of active-duty physicians in the emerging discipline of medical acupuncture. This is a unique course whose goal is to incorporate acupuncture into the practice of military medicine in the clinic and battlefield environments."

Armed service personnel can present special challenges for AOM treatment. Some of their most common complaints may include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic low back pain from continuously carrying backpacks that weigh a minimum of 45 pounds.

Fortunately, there is solid research backing the use of acupuncture to treat these conditions.^1,2 However, in most cases, acupuncture is administered only to vets returning from their tour of duty, which could be months or even years after the initial trauma or injury. The Air Force is planning to fund 32 scholarships specifically for this training. The scholarships will cover the cost of study materials, supplies and any associated temporary duties. The upshot of all this is that Air Force physicians now have an expanded opportunity to bring the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment to a historically underserved population - and to do so more efficiently than ever before.

The Air Force announcement added, "The curriculum has been developed by the AF/SG Consultant for Complementary & Alternative Medicine, Col (Dr.) Richard Niemtzow, and by the Helms Medical Institute and has been specifically designed for use in a military environment. It is in fact, the first course of this kind to be offered in the Department of Defense. The techniques that will be taught are time-tested and can be used to treat neuromusculoskeletal pain as well as common functional and organic problems.

"All major disciplines of acupuncture that have practical clinical value will be taught by experienced civilian and military physicians. The curriculum includes fundamentals of acupuncture theory, channel and point location, approaches to diagnosis and therapy, myofascial palpation, needling techniques, electrical stimulation, and patient management. The live sessions are intensively supervised so that all participants will receive substantial individual attention."

According to officials at the Air Force Surgeon General's office, "Over the past few years, acupuncture has been found to be quite effective in ameliorating some of the complex pain syndromes affecting many of our severely wounded warriors. The purpose of the pilot program is to a) more formally evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in reducing pain and facilitating an earlier assessment of TBI [traumatic brain injury] in seriously injured patients, and b) to assess the effectiveness (and practicality) of using acupuncture as a medical adjunct, in a deployed setting."

In addition to expanding the use of AOM, there is a potential for a real cost-savings in terms of care.

Joe C. Chang, MAOM, Dipl. OM, LAc, was the first acupuncturist in the United States selected to work with returning Iraq/Afghanistan vets at Ft. Bliss Restoration & Resilience Center-William Beaumont Army Medical Center. In an interview with Acupuncture Today, he explained that a study done by the RAND Corporation (a California-based think tank) has demonstrated to the military the value of alternative treatment approaches.

"What the military is realizing is that the current standard treatment protocols are not working. Standard mental health therapies included pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy. And if the soldier did not get better and had difficulty coping with the standard treatment, they were forced out of the military against their wishes. This means life-long veteran benefits that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates to be between $7 and $9 billion over the period 2008 through 2017 for Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. So, there is a big push for evidence-based research for PTSD and depression. The RAND Corporation estimates that the government could save as much as $1.7 billion, or $1,063 per returning veteran through evidence-based research."

Chang added that the Pentagon spent $5 million in 2008 on research in seeking new ways to treat troops suffering from combat stress or brain damage by researching alternative methods such as acupuncture, meditation or yoga.

With an estimated 144,000 troops (as of last August) stationed in Iraq and an additional estimated 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, this new Air Force program has the potential to reach out to vast new numbers of patients in need of AOM services.

References

Hollifield M, Sinclair-Lian N, Warner T, Hammerschlag R. Acupuncture for posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized controlled pilot trial. J Nerv Ment Dis 2007;195:504-13.
Haake M, Muller HH, Schade-Brittinger C, et al. German Acupuncture Trials (GERAC) for chronic low back pain: randomized, multicenter, blinded, parallel-group trial with 3 groups. Arch Intern Med 2007;167(17):1892-8.

From:
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=31882

Role of Acupuncture in Treating PTSD

Cathy Dimaggio — 2009-06-23T16:12:17-07:00

Participants Wanted for Study

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is no stranger to health care literature, although it has gone by many names in the last 140 years. Clear documentation of the condition dates back to the American Civil War, when a nervous disorder known as Da Costa's Syndrome was recognized in some veterans. Fifty years later, physicians in Great Britain coined the term "shell shock" to describe the physical and mental effects suffered by soldiers who were subjected to or witnessed life-threatening experiences during World War I. Over time, the name of the condition has been enlarged (or in the opinions of some, dehumanized) - first to "battle fatigue," then "operational exhaustion," to its current moniker.

Since the middle of the 20th century, the clinical definition of PTSD has also been revised to include traumatic stress suffered not just during combat, but situations such as natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents and violent personal assaults. The National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder estimates that at some point in their lives, one in every 13 Americans will experience some form of PTSD; roughly 30 percent of these individuals will go on to develop a chronic form of the disorder.

Today, PTSD is treated by a variety of psychological and pharmacological therapies. While some of these therapies appear promising, there is no definitive treatment and no cure for the condition. Patients diagnosed with PTSD can also suffer from related ailments such as depression, sleep abnormalities and relationship problems.

Researchers at the University of New Mexico are continuing work on a $250,000 two-year study of the effects of acupuncture in treating PTSD.

The study, which began in May, was made possible with a grant from the National Institutes of Health. If successful, it could lay the path for larger trials that incorporate Eastern and Western approaches to treating the condition.

"This is the first study I'm aware of to look at acupuncture as a modality for PTSD," said Dr. Michael Hollifield, an associate professor of psychiatry and family medicine at the university's department of psychiatry and the study's principal investigator. "To date, our research supports using acupuncture for treating PTSD symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety and depression, in addition to some pain disorders. It may do so by stimulating the body's internal opiate system, though much more research on this issue is needed."

Aiding Dr. Hollifield in his research are Nityamo Sinclair-Lian, DOM, and Teddy Warner, PhD, who will serve as co-investigators. Drs. Hollifield and Sinclair-Lian collaborated previously on a study on the effects of trauma in Vietnamese and Kurdish refugees. Dr. Sinclair-Lian also runs a public health pain clinic for Vietnamese refugees, and provides acupuncture detoxification for substance users at a local outreach shelter for the homeless.

"We live in a very stressful society," Sinclair-Lian noted. "Some of the cases I have seen have been quite heartbreaking."

Under the parameters of the study, patients spend 12 weeks in the treatment program, and are randomized into three groups. One group acts as a waiting-list control and receives no treatment during the study (but will be treated with acupuncture at the end of the waiting period); the second receives standard cognitive behavior therapy; and the third is treated with acupuncture.

Acupuncture patients are seen twice per week during the treatment period. Each treatment session lasts an hour, and consists of needle insertion and manipulation (in some cases, up to 15 needles are used), along with seeds affixed to specific points on the ears.

The study hopes to achieve three objectives: First, to determine whether acupuncture is an acceptable form of care for people with PTSD; second, to see if it reduces symptoms as effectively as standard treatments; and third, to pinpoint diagnostic patterns for people with PTSD, based on Chinese medical precepts.

"Instead of having just a generic design, we are adding individual points based on the pattern diagnosis of the participant," Sinclair-Lian said. "Everyone doesn't fit the same pattern. This is actually closer to clinical practice than a normal research study."

To date, 17 patients have completed the program, with at least 29 more subjects enrolled at various stages. At this point, both Drs. Hollifield and Sinclair-Lian are blinded to the objective assessments. However, based on preliminary, subjective results, Dr. Sinclair-Lian said the acupuncture treatments appear to be working.

"My sense is it's going well," she said. "People are expressing satisfaction with the treatments, and some are amazed at how well they are feeling after suffering for several years with debilitating symptoms. A few patients have moved from unemployment to employment status, and from homelessness to finding a home during the course of their treatment."

Once the results of the current study are completed, Sinclair-Lian and Hollifield plan to pursue a future project that would incorporate acupuncture with cognitive behavioral therapy to provide optimal benefits for PTSD sufferers.

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=28355