Acupuncture has been around for over 4,000 years, since the early society of China, and has been said to relieve joint pain, back pain and chronic pain. But acupuncture also provides relief and healing for so much more, says Elliott Freed, licensed acupuncturist and certified Master of Science of Traditional Chinese Medicine (M.S.T.C.M) in Cotati.
He said acupuncture is beneficial for the psyche as well as for the physical body and he’s recently decided to offer acupuncture to combat veterans free of charge.
“The reason that I’m doing this, what inspired me, is in talking to some people I know who’ve had relatives that have been to Iraq or Afghanistan, they seem particularly to be in an unusual amount of pain,” said Freed. He also has a friend who’s been a counselor for soldiers and veterans since the 70s, Vietnam all along through the Gulf War.
“He told me the people coming back now from Iraq or Afghanistan, their psyche’s are just broken in a way that he hasn’t seen in 35 years.
“So in particular I’d like to work with that population,” but, he adds, he will work with any veteran who needs help.
He’s been working on friends who’ve been in wars. “It seems like the war is still with them, it’s trapped in their psyche,” he said. So how does acupuncture help get rid of it? Freed said he wouldn’t say acupuncture necessarily gets rid of their problems.
“The way one person put it to me was, ‘there’s no sleep like acupuncture sleep’ so somebody who still hears and feels bullets flying around them from being in combat may not have the same results with acupuncture like someone who’s never been in combat” but it helps them to get a more restful sleep. He points out everyone is different, there’s no generalizing or averages when it comes to getting treatment, where he puts the needles and the length of time it takes to treat someone.
“(Acupuncture) moves pain – brings it up and out.” He said sometimes the first treatment can be an awakening of the mind to come to terms and make a connection with themselves and what they’ve been through. It may bring out more pain initially but it acts as a way of cleansing and each treatment can bring a significant amount of relief. “Every needle deals with spirit and for each individual, the spirit is different.”
With new patients he schedules longer sessions for the first visit and uses the time as a sort of “storytelling” as to who they are. It helps him determine the best way to treat them. “Just the process of telling their story can be very healing.” He says about soldiers experiencing nightmares, “Nightmares often come from untold stories, holding all they’ve seen inside.”
Freed offers more than just standard acupuncture sessions. He integrates Chinese medicine in addition to needles, often giving his patients Qigong exercises to enhance a person’s overall health and promote circulation, which, he says, can change basic patterns. For some, he’ll even offer Chinese herbs to help their ailment.
“It takes a lot of dedication on the person I’m treating but I teach them ways to make a change.”
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can move a person’s energy and open up things that have been blocked over time. Freed uses a river as an analogy. “Energy is not benign. Much like a river, there’s a constant flow. Standing next the river, you can feel the mist and the vibration… it’s the same with the blood in the body, the body has vibrations like the flow of the river.” Acupuncture can release what’s inside. Whether it be physical pain or emotional, Freed says it can help release the interruption of that energy flow.
When asked about the future, he laughs, “If you know the future, you’d be the only one.”
 At 35 years old, Freed’s only plan so far is just to help people. And now, he hopes the word will spread on his resolve to aid the afflictions of combat soldiers. “They’ve sacrificed a lot for us and this is my way of giving back to them.”
Freed works by appointment only and can be reached at his Cotati office at 291-2142.