Some seek acupuncture for pain relief

Sandra Blea didn't flinch as Steve Martinez inserted tiny needles in areas around her swollen wrist.

Sandra Blea didn't flinch as Steve Martinez inserted tiny needles in areas around her swollen wrist.

A licensed acupuncturist, Martinez was demonstrating the ancient therapy for pain relief at the local arthritis support group meeting in Kalispell. Blea, an arthritis-suffer, willing volunteered for the drug-free pain relief.

Martinez explained that acupuncture works by means of tiny needles inserted in very specific points throughout the body.

"The measure of a good treatments is how you feel tomorrow," he said.

As Martinez performed the treatment, Blea reported a tingling sensation. She awoke the next morning to find her pain much relieved.

"So it worked," she said.

Blea organized the support group when she learned she had arthritis (from lupus). She tries to find speakers, like Martinez, for each meeting held on the second Tuesday of each month at The Summit.

Martinez doesn't promote acupuncture as a cure for arthritis or discourage patients from following Western medicine. He believes in blending Eastern and Western traditions to improve a sufferer's quality of life and sees acupuncture as a means of relief from arthritis pain and other types of chronic pain.

"I work with a lot of physical therapists," he said.

Martinez first became interested in acupuncture after a treatment relieved his own disabling back pain following an accident.

His aunt suggested that he try a local acupuncture practitioner.

"I left that gal's office with less pain than I had for a year," Martinez said.

His encounter inspired him to leave his career as a wildlife biologist and enroll in a four-year program in acupuncture. Martinez already had the required undergraduate degree in science.

He completed the certification process for acupuncturists required in Montana.

"I'm licensed by the medical board," he explained.

At the arthritis support group meeting, Martinez displayed a drawing of the complex of energy meridians which acupuncturists tap to assist patients. The meridians relate to internal functions and organs.

According to Chinese tradition, the life or energy force of qi follows these paths.

"We can think of qi as an electrical current," Martinez said.

He explained the Chinese believe disease and pain results from an obstruction or disharmony in qi flow in these meridians. Acupuncture began 3,000 years ago with 136 points but has grown to 400 common points and 1,000 extra points.

"Acupuncture continues to evolve clinically," he said.

Martinez recalled how the ancient science first came to the attention of American media after Nixon opened China to trade. A reporter from the New York Times underwent an emergency appendectomy with only acupuncture for anesthesia.

Martinez said he accepted acupuncture more easily after he quit trying to fit it into a Western medical understanding of the body.

"I can affect the body in ways that don't make sense," he said. "We don't fully understand how acupuncture works."

Martinez said Chinese medicine classifies osteoarthritis as "cold bi" or fixed disease and rheumatoid arthritis as "heat bi" with swelling and "wind bi" because it moves from joint to joint.

The acupuncturist begins by discussing a patient's symptoms or flare-ups in detail before beginning treatments.

"What we're really looking for is patterns," he said. "You select points to repeat that key pattern."

Martinez said he begins with an hour and a half session for which he charges $80. Follow up, 45-minute sessions cost $60.

Although some insurance covers his work, he said most people have to pay out of their own pocket. Medicaid and Medicare don't pay for acupuncture.

As Martinez began his demonstration, he had Blea recline on a pad. He began putting a needle in her foot and one in her wrist using a tiny tube to position the needle than inserting it with a light tap.

"Some of my most interesting tools (like the tubes) are used by blind Japanese acupuncturists,"he said. "They develop an incredible sense of touch."

Next in Blea's treatment, Martinez applied a current by attaching alligator clips to the needles. He then moved on to place 5 to 7 needles in points around her wrist.

He said the needles normally stay in place from 15 minutes to a half an hour.

"You won't eliminate the condition," Martinez said. "It helps bring about healing."

He said the relief lasts different amounts of time for different people. For some people, a series of treatments may give pain relief for three to four months.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, there is some evidence that acupuncture helps ease the pain of osteoarthritis. Studies now under way are looking at acupuncture for treating arthritis of the knee.

The foundation recommends consulting a physician prior to trying acupuncture.

To find out more about the arthritis support group, contact Blea at 755-8901. People may reach Martinez's office at 756-0308.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com