Battlefield Acupuncture: Is It Ready for Widespread Dissemination?

Abstract

The use of prescription opioids for chronic pain has increased markedly within the past few decades; thus, death rates associated with opioid overdoses have increased dramatically. Nonopioid pharmacologic therapies also are associated with adverse effects. Other pain-abatement modalities such as acupuncture may be useful in the treatment of several painful conditions. Battlefield acupuncture is being promulgated as a potential low-risk, nonpharmacological therapy for pain. In this narrative review we examine the published literature to support battlefield acupuncture. We conclude that the amount and quality of published research presently do not justify wide adoption of this practice by those strictly adherent to evidence-based medicine.