Some people may still think of acupuncture as Voodoo but not our armed forces! Over the last few years the use of acupuncture has become increasingly popular, including an endorsement from the Army’s surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker. He has become a powerful advocate of TCM. Here are a few quotes from the General:

“What we’re doing here is to open the aperture . . . to a much wider range of modalities that can be applied to the management of both acute and chronic pain, and they’re largely focused on the results of pretty careful studies.”

“In fact, the use of acupuncture for pain management is almost mainline.”

“We’re now using it in the battlefield, even in the special operations community and other places with much success.”

Acupuncture is now an alternative for pain control instead of narcotics and in Afghanistan, doctors had promising results using acupuncture to treat brain injuries. In addition, in 2010 the U.S. Department of Defense granted 1.2 million dollars to The New England School of Acupuncture in order to fund a clinical trial on the Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Gulf War Illness.

I’m delighted that the military is open to new ways of treating and healing our service men and women. I’ve always thought of them as very conservative but I may have to change my thinking.

Happy Veterans Day and thank you to the men and women who risk their lives for our country!