Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C. -- If pain or discomfort has ever persisted in your body and traditional
medicine and treatment has not helped, or the side effects are worse than
what is being treated, acupuncture may be an option for treatment.
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune offers acupuncture to Marines, Sailors and
dependents needing an alternative.
“The acupuncture that we offer is a culmination of both Eastern and Western
medicine,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason S. Litchfield, acupuncture therapist.
“We take the best of both practices and apply them to treat your ailment.”
Acupuncture involves the insertion of small needles in specific areas of
the body, known in Eastern medicine as meridians. In Western terms, the
needles are massaging the peripheral nervous system to help the body
naturally reset itself, according to http://www.eastern-acupuncture.com.
“The body runs off of chemical messengers such as serotonin and
norepinephrine,” said Litchfield. “What we do helps the body to better
regulate them, which is what aids in pain relief.”
Acupuncture can be used to treat all different pain syndromes from neck,
back and knee pain to some psychiatric conditions such as post-traumatic
stress disorder, combat fatigue and depression.
“One of the only negatives about acupuncture is that it does not last,”
said Litchfield. “It usually starts out with weekly visits then maybe we
can make it into bi-weekly visits and possibly even monthly.”
Most people who seek to receive acupuncture as a treatment do so because of
the side-effects of the medication they are currently taking.
“Acupuncture can also be used to help people who are taking medications and
want to stop taking them without going through the symptoms of withdrawal,”
said Litchfield. “What we do helps their bodies to re-learn how to fight
its own pain again without the medicine.”
In order to receive acupuncture, a referral from your primary care manager
requesting acupuncture therapy needs to be submitted to the pain management
section of the naval hospital.