Acupuncture and PTSD: 'Come for the Needles, Stay for the Therapy'

Definitive exposure-based therapies may be indicated but are not feasible logistically and are often temporally difficult to deliver. As challenges to provide useful therapeutic strategies to deployed troops limit classical interventions, integrative medicine offers the hope of providing more choices and with those options, the sense of empowerment over one’s own recovery. Post-course surveys reveal that physician graduates of this program use their new skills as frequently for stress symptoms (anger, anxiety, insomnia, agitation, fear, concentration difficulties) as for “kit neck” and “kit back,” the persistent cervical and lumbar musculoskeletal problems caused by wearing heavy protective gear and carrying weapons. Medical acupuncture, or the use of thin needles placed in proximity of tiny neurovascular bundles, releases a cascade of neurotransmitters that affect pain modulation and facilitate better functioning.