Acupuncture in US Army (#39; Topic I)

On the way to our retirement community's clubhouse for a lecture on the biochemistry of food, my car radio was tuned to WTOP, the area's top-rated all-news station. It was in the midst of reporting on acupuncture, an ancient Chinese medical practice. It seems that the U.S. Army is a big user -- a colonel and his staff in a medical facility (I did not catch its name) have administered it to Army personnel no less than 11,000 times. Eleven thousand times! The report cited acupuncture's two advantages. One, its portability -- all a doctor needs are needles, each only slightly longer than a toothpick; no expensive equipment is required. Two, its low cost -- each needle costs only 38 cents; a treatment, using a dozen or so needles, would cost "less than a cup of coffee." Perhaps a third advantage -- when acupuncture is used as anesthetic during surgery -- may be advanced: its relative safety. No chemical needs to be injected into a patient's body; there is no danger of overdose. So, let us chalk acupuncture up as an example where the world's most advanced superpower relies upon an ancient Chinese practice -- in medicine, no less.
Posted at 4:42 pm, Thursday, January 19, 2006