This I Believe
This I believe. I believe in a medical device that can revolutionize our health-care system. It is a simple, ubiquitous, and versatile device with very few complications, and it is highly effective.
Why I was attracted to this device in the mid-90s — after 10 years of practice — I am not sure. Maybe it was faith. Back then, I had developed my own style of practice. I had attracted most of the “headache” patients whom most physicians labeled as “hypochondriacs” and spent little time treating. But, I was continually disheartened when they would complain bitterly about their many symptoms and I could not make them feel better, even with input from the specialties.
One of these patients, with whom I had a pretty solid relationship, actually got better. Her improvement came as a result of treatment using this device. I was mesmerized by her enthusiasm and recovery. I was also somewhat embarrassed to think that, with all its high-tech equipment and complex medications, modern medicine was beat out by the simplest of surgical tools.
Surgeons refer to a tool like this as a scalpel blade and call the procedure surgery. But this tool is a very thin filament and the surgery is more finely focused. I call it “thin filamentous surgery.”
When doctors use the device as a diagnostic tool, it works better than any MRI. When they use it as a therapeutic device, it works better than any traditional surgical procedure. I think it is the treatment of choice for carpal tunnel problems and lower back pain — that is, problems that are mostly muscular and skeletal. Like any other effective medical therapy, doctors must use it within the context of a therapeutic plan. In combination with other forms of therapy, it is highly effective, and in some cases, it may be the only therapy.
Dr. Janet G. Travell, an orthopedic surgeon who practiced from the '40's to the '90s, spent her entire career studying the therapeutic effects of this device. I believe she should be elevated to the ranks of sainthood for her contributions to modern medicine. She wrote a two-volume set of textbooks that outline treatment protocols for a long list of medical problems. I believe that all medical schools should require their first-year students to study these volumes religiously.
Dr. Travell used hypodermic needles to release tight muscle tissues that cause some of the most intense pain syndromes. A parallel technique that uses acupuncture needles complements and augments her protocols to a much more affective level.
So, what is this medical device in which I believe? It is acupuncture, and I believe it can make a revolutionary difference in our healthcare system.
