Acupuncture in the Emergency Room

Acupuncture is an alternative medicine practice originating in ancient China that treats patients by manipulating thin, solid needles, which are inserted into acupuncture points in the skin. Acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain, but can be used to treat a wide variety of disorders such as digestive disorders, headaches, and anxiety.

According the StarTribune, a Minneapolis hospital is blazing trails as the first hospital in the nation to have an acupuncturist on staff in the Emergency Room. The hospital reports this alternative addition has been successful thus far, treating patients coming in due to a variety of emergencies, from car accidents to kidney stones.

Abbott Northwestern Hospital is offering acupuncture as a free service to compliment and supplement traditional western medicine, with the hopes of reducing the doctors’ dependency in administering pain medication. The StarTribune also mentions that after following almost 200 patients, the hospital reported that pain scores decreased by the same amount for patients who received acupuncture alone, and those who received traditional analgesic pain relievers. The hospital’s acupuncturist, Adam Reinstein, observes patients to feel calmer and less anxious while receiving treatment in the ER.

It is hopeful that the success of acupuncture in Abbot Northwestern Hospital will inspire other hospitals to follow suit. This new practice comes at a time when opioid and pain medication deaths are at an all time high. According to the CDC, more than 28,000 people died in 2014 due opioid and prescription opioid overdose. With opioid use comes the risk of addiction, dependence, tolerance and abuse.

To read more from the StarTribune article, click he

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If you are located in the Florida Keys and would like to learn more about acupuncture for pain, call us at 305-394-0668 or click here to schedule an appointment.