On pins and needles

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tinese Treadwell
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  When you think of military medicine, what do you think of? State of the art equipment that cost tens of thousands of dollars, the most advanced medicines that are being developed, or even medics in the field bandaging wounded warriors in deserts in faraway lands. But would you think of military medicine as acupuncture? Well, in a dim office with sounds of tranquility all around, Capt. (Dr.) Michael Aluker is using this ancient practice to treat Airmen and Soldiers from Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson one needle at a time. 

Captain Aluker--a native Russian from Moscow--attended the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md., where he a pursued a degree in medicine. Once he received his degree he became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. 

Before joining the military, he had a general interest in alternative medicine, which is any healing practice that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine. Along with being a licensed general practitioner, he is the only acupuncturist on Elmendorf. 

Acupuncture is not a typical career field for the military, which makes Dr. Aluker and the 50 other acupuncturist in the military very unique. 

Acupuncture origins are not quite clear, but it was most widely used in China prior to 1949. Since then, many of the traditional practices have been modernized or disappeared completely. 

Acupuncture was a part of what was called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TMC). Now TCM is almost only practiced on the borders of China in rural areas where modern medicine facilities are not readily available. 

Acupuncture was taken worldwide after French missionaries brought it back to France and eventually took it farther west to America. After leaving China, the original practice was watered down and became what it is today in western medicine. 

According to Captain Aluker, acupuncture has proven to cure many aliments from muscle problems in the limbs, migraines, to problems in all internal organs. However, there are many skeptics how well it actually works. 

Many tests have been conducted to figure out exactly how acupuncture works and to this day many theories have been developed but none them explain exactly how it works. One the theories are that acupuncture pulls electric energy from muscles, cells, and organs to sort of zap the aliment away. 

"While electrical charges constantly run through the body and electricity can be used with acupuncture, it is not the bottom line on how acupuncture works," Captain Aluker said. "Most theories have been made to make people feel better about how it works, because western civilization is uncomfortable with thing they don't have an explanation for." 

While acupuncture may be foreign to America as a whole, it is even more foreign to the U.S. military. 

Just like any physician, Captain Aluker must determine the aliments of the patient in order for him to be properly treat them with acupuncture. 

"Patients are diagnosed based on their syndrome in acupuncture there is not such concept as disease," Captain Aluker added. "The difference between and syndrome and a disease is that a syndrome is a collection of symptoms while a disease is a name given to a specific pathology. It's not an easy concept to grasp. Based on the symptoms, certain organ systems are looked to determine their involvement with the syndrome. Organ systems in acupuncture are based on their function rather than their anatomy. Just because you are having a respiratory problem, in acupuncture that does not necessarily mean that only your lungs and airways are the source." 

When it comes to treating patients at the hospital at Elmendorf, most of his patients to referred to before they actually have to go under the knife. Captain Aluker explains his procedure. "Once they come me, depending their problem, I make sure I understand their expectations from the treatment they are about to receive. Some people believe I will stick them with a needle and they are all better. It does not work like that all time. It may take several appointments before they see the results. Once I have that I ask about their physical activity, diet and lifestyle as it pertains to their condition." 

Sometimes he prescribes exercise routines and diet plans before he actually performs acupuncture. 

"Usually, with a good number aliments; good sleep, exercise, and diet will take care of the problem," he added. "Also a good emotional state will help, since a lot of medical conditions are exacerbated by an unhealthy emotional state of mind," Captain Aluker said. 

Once he has determined acupuncture will assist with treatment, he continues with the rest of the treatment. In TCM, they used "channels" throughout the body to determine where the needles would be placed. Well what that means to us is the way the muscles and skeletal structure are set up. Today these channels are also described as points, 365 points to be exact. 

"You basically just palpate or feel right along the channel or muscle and the body will tell you what's wrong," Captain Aluker said. 

The needles he uses are about two inches long and are extremely thin. They are also blunt, but the fact that they are so thin is why they can actually pierce the skin. 

Most of his appointments last for about thirty minutes, but if he could have his way he would leave the needles in for an hour or more. "They do not hurt," he added. "The fact that they are needles may stroke people the wrong way at first, but there is a small pinch and nothing else."