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Early on in the Iraq war, our son was injured by a car bomb. He came back to the U.S. missing a foot but ended up having the lower leg removed because of the pain. Is anything better being done now to help save these kids' limbs?

Soldiers returning from the field with battle wounds often have severe trauma affecting the leg. It's clear now from the many wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq with traumatic limb injuries that early pain control is essential. Pain clinics staffed by pain experts near the battle zone have helped improve outcomes. Pain conditions treated early and aggressively result in fewer cases of chronic pain, disability, and amputation. Many times it takes a concentrated effort of many team members to help suffering soldiers find the right mix of medications and management techniques to gain control of their pain. This type of program is referred to as a comprehensive interdisciplinary pain protocol. Experts in pain medicine work together using any and all tools that might help the soldier or veteran. Complementary modalities such as acupuncture, Reiki, touch, BodyTalk, massage, hypnosis, as well as many other alternative approaches are often tried and incorporated into the program. All efforts are made to save the leg but constant severe pain may still lead some soldiers to opt for amputation. There is great hope that advancements in pain control will still help others who have lost limbs in the war effort. Pain management research is ongoing on behalf of our service men and women affected in this way.

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