New medical treatment eases war injury pain

New medical treatment eases war injury pain
By Randy Griffith, CNHI News Service
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Improvised explosive devices or IEDs in Iraq are causing an alarming loss of limbs and some of the most painful injuries known to medicine.

But a pioneering medical method developed two years ago at the John P. Murtha Neuroscience and Pain Institute here is helping wounded soldiers better cope with their suffering than in previous wars.
The technique uses an electric needle to pinpoint the nerves emitting pain from a badly mangled arm or leg, then blocks the pain by injecting a non-addictive anesthesia into the nerve center.