Should first responders use acupuncture & integrative medicine in natural disasters & battle zones?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Oct-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

New Rochelle, NY, October 16, 2014Delivering traditional emergency medical care at ground zero of natural disasters and military conflicts is challenging. First responders trained in simple integrative medicine approaches such as acupuncture, hypnosis, or biofeedback can provide adjunctive treatment to help relieve patients' pain and stress. How to teach and utilize modified techniques and their potential benefit are described in a Review article in Medical Acupuncture, a peer-reviewed journal from by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Medical Acupuncture website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/acu.2014.1063 until November 16, 2014.

In the article "The Roles of Acupuncture and Other Components of Integrative Medicine in Cataclysmic Natural Disasters and Military Conflicts" Richard Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a retired Air Force Colonel, and current Director of the USAF Acupuncture Center, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Wayne Jonas, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Samueli Institute (Alexandria, VA); and coauthors from InsideSurgery, LLC (Wayne, PA) and Samueli Institute present integrative health care approaches suitable for use by emergency responders and rescuers that do not require extensive equipment, facilities, or supplies.

"These approaches are usually inexpensive and nontoxic, are inherently low-risk, do not require complicated delivery methods, and can be pushed far forward in disaster relief effort even when other resources cannot be delivered," state the authors. "Such approaches may provide significant and rapid relief for victims of disasters and wars, as well as for their caregivers."

The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the United States Air Force Medical Corps, the Air Force at large, or the Department of Defense.

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About the Journal

Medical Acupuncture, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal presents evidence-based clinical articles, case reports, and research findings that integrate concepts from traditional and modern forms of acupuncture with allopathic medicine. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Medical Acupuncture website at http://www.liebertpub.com/acu.

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Should first responders use acupuncture & integrative medicine in natural disasters & battle zones?