Effect of Battlefield Acupuncture on Procedural Anxiety and Pain in Fluoroscopically-Guided Interventional Pain Procedures

Saturday, November 15, 2025

7:40 AM - 7:48 AM CT

Location: Griffin Hall - Screen 04

Introduction:

Many patients experience anxiety and discomfort during spinal injections. Traditional anxiolytics like IV benzodiazepines or opioids, while effective, may be limited by contraindications or institutional barriers. Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA), a minimally invasive neuromodulation technique targeting auricular acupoints, may provide both anxiolytic and analgesic benefits. Although BFA has shown promise in acute pain management, its role in procedural settings remains understudied. We hypothesized that pre-procedural BFA would reduce anxiety and improve pain outcomes during spinal interventions.

Submitting Author(s)

CU

Chiamaka J. Ukoha, MD

Pain Fellow
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Co-Author(s)

MD

Megan Dahl, BS

Medical Student
Emory School of Medicine
White Lake, Michigan, United States
MC

Michael Chung, MD

Pain Management Attending
Emory, United States
AR

Anna Ree, BA,CCRC

CVNR Research Coordination
Emory, United States
TB

Terrell Brown, PhD, MSW, MA

Associate Professor
Morehouse, United States
AK

Andrew Kilday, MD

Attending
Alliance Spine and Pain, United States
MG

Morgan Gonder, MD

Attending
Sano Orthopedics, United States
AW

Anna Woodbury, MD

Associate Professor
Emory University, United States