Take two needles and call me in the morning

[St. Paul Pioneer Press, April 14, 2010] Five patients — with three new knees and two new hips among them — were rolled into a dimmed, windowless room at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis for group acupuncture.

None had received the treatment before, but Cynthia Miller, a clinical acupuncturist, quickly had thin needles protruding from precise points in their feet, ankles, arms and ears to ease their joint pain. Low lights and calm music were having an effect as well.

Cheryl Harelstad and Clinton Peterman were motionless in their easy chairs, opening their eyes slightly before nodding off again. Not Don Kline. The 67-year-old with a replacement to his bad catcher's knee sat forward and alert, a two-pronged needle sticking out of his right ear like an antenna.

Read the entire story and see more on the Pioneer Press website.