Providing a pain management option without medication

Pain. Everyone experiences it in one way or another.

As a family medicine physician, I am invested in improving the quality of my patients’ lives. This desire is what led me to study acupuncture as a way to treat pain without medication.

Acupuncture is a treatment that uses steel needles as thin as a human hair inserted into your skin on strategic points on the body to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Research has shown that this stimulation can cause the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.

I was afforded the opportunity to study acupuncture while in residency at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The U.S. Air Force noted the importance of alternative medicine in maintaining a fit, always ready fighting force. When military physicians give medications to special populations such as pilots, they ultimately take a service member off duty thereby reducing the force.

Modalities such as acupuncture allow these special populations to return to duty immediately following treatment, reducing down time from days to minutes. We even did vasectomies with only acupuncture as pain control for military members who wished to avoid removal from special duty status.

As a physician, it is my first priority to ensure the patient’s pain has been fully investigated so as not to miss diagnoses that would be better treated with specialized medications or immediate surgery. However, once a diagnosis has been reached, acupuncture is often introduced as an option along with the usual physical therapy, Motrin, Tylenol, Lidoderm, etc.

Sometimes medical options are exhausted, and surgery becomes the next step; however, I find there are a fair number of my patients who are deferring surgery for a variety of reasons including social support, finances and uncontrolled health conditions. Acupuncture is a great palliative option that can stave off pain while awaiting the optimal time for definitive treatment.

The best part of acupuncture is it is for everyone. There are special considerations taken with patients who are pregnant or have an implantable medical device/hardware but there are still many treatments available to these special populations. Treatments can be completed with or without electricity. The applied electricity feels similar to a TENS unit, which is a battery-operated device also used to manage pain. With acupuncture treatments, patients often leave feeling as though their muscles are more relaxed and pain is often reduced by at least half. Treatments typically last 20 to 30 minutes in office.

The effects of acupuncture treatments last a few days at first and with regular treatments, we often can reach a point of doing acupuncture once every one to two months for maintenance. I always encourage my patients to be open and honest throughout the process. If a treatment doesn’t work, tell me! There are so many options to try and as I learn a patient’s body, I can personalize treatment to make it more effective for the individual.

While acupuncture can be performed for concerns such as low back pain, knee pain or other orthopedic injuries, it can also be employed for PTSD, anxiety, fatigue and much more. I encourage patients to discuss alternative treatments for their pain and other chronic medical conditions with their primary care providers.

Originally from Missouri, Dr. Stephanie Schirding recently retired as a Captain in the United State Air Force where she served as a staff physician in the Warrior Operational Medicine Clinic at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. She and her husband have two young children and live in Sedalia. Dr. Schirding sees patients of all ages at Bothwell Cole Camp Clinic. To make an appointment to see her, call the clinic at 660.668.4411 or Centralized Scheduling at 660.829.8888.