I would tell people who are not familiar that we are beginning to understand acupuncture in terms of our Western information, with our own science. We can understand acupuncture by our Western anatomy, biochemistry, immunology, and biophysics. The mystery of this very ancient modality is being elucidated by the same techniques that scientists use to study other types of mechanisms at work in the treatment of various types of diseases. I would emphasize that acupuncture is amenable to these types of investigations. So the idea that it’s a mystery is beginning to change, as researchers discover the reasons that it works.

Is there anything else that we haven’t touched upon, that you wish to tell our readers?

I think that the battlefield acupuncture is proving itself to be very practical. In my travels to Europe, many acupuncturists there practice whatever system they have traditionally used, and also find the battlefield acupuncture to be very competitive, if not quicker and more efficient. This is what people tell me. I’ve had the same remarks made to me when I was in China. In this country, the battlefield acupuncture technique appears to be very popular. I’m not able to tell you how many people are using it, but when they see it in action, a lot of them switch their regular Traditional Chinese Medicine pain tactics to this system of the battlefield acupuncture.

So this doesn’t replace traditional acupuncture as a whole, but in terms of pain, it’s particularly to the point, so to speak.

It has its advantages. It’s very well accepted and probably easier to use than most traditional acupuncture techniques.

Ease of use is a very important thing in health care.

Yes, and it’s very cost-effective.

Daniel Redwood, DC, the interviewer, is Editor-in-Chief of Health Insights Today.