ACUPUNCTURE
Conditions that acupuncture can help:
Arthritis / Joint Pain
Back / Neck Pain
Intervertebral disc disease in dogs
Tendon / Ligament strain
ACL injury in dogs (anterior/cranial cruciate ligament in knee)
Urinary Incontinence
Wobbler Syndrome
Degenerative myelopathy
Limb paralysis
Veterinary acupuncture is the natural ‘energetic complement’ to veterinary osteopathy. Osteopathy is mainly about restoring structural alignment, mechanical balance and normal joint motion whereas the main goal of acupuncture is to balance the energy of the body and to alleviate pain. There is a wonderful synergy between these two very different modalities. Each treatment approach enhances the outcome of the other. Acupuncture does not tend to restore normal joint motion nor address problems with mechanical alignment and balance. This is the main reason that many veterinarians who treat with acupuncture eventually pursue training in a manual manipulative therapy such as veterinary chiropractic or osteopathy.
Dr. Taylor starts all her cases with an osteopathic approach as this is by far the most effective and efficient approach in the majority of musculoskeletal and neurologic cases with vast improvements in just a couple of treatments. She finds that acupuncture is wonderful at addressing whatever is then ‘left over’ that osteopathy may not fully address, such as full pain control management and the tonification (raising) the energy of weak organs.
“Acupuncture is safe and tolerated very well by most animals.
Many animals get very relaxed or even fall asleep during the sessions.”
Dr. Taylor is certified in veterinary acupuncture through both the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society and the Association of Veterinary Acupuncturists of Canada. It is highly recommended to only work with a veterinarian certified in acupuncture. Certified Veterinary Acupuncturists have the comprehensive training, knowledge and skill to understand the interactions between different forms of treatment and to interpret the patient’s response to therapy.
What is Veterinary Acupuncture?
Acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into specific points on the body to produce a healing response. Each acupuncture point has specific actions when stimulated and are connected to each other via meridians or channels inside the body. Acupuncture has been used to treat many ailments in both people and animals in China for thousands of years. The Chinese also use acupuncture as preventative medicine.
Veterinarians who use acupuncture in their practice commonly use it for musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, intervertebral disk disease, paralysis, lameness and pain from many causes. It is also excellent for treating problems in other systems of the body including the digestive tract, reproductive system, skin and the respiratory tract.
There are different ways to perform acupuncture including dry needles, electro-acupuncture, laser acupuncture, aquapuncture (injecting minute amounts of liquids such as Vitamin B12 or saline into points) and moxabustion (heating needles with moxa herb).
How Does it Work?
Before modern medical research could start to prove how acupuncture actually works the prevailing theory revolved around channels (meridians) of energy underneath the skin and inside the body that could be accessed via specific points at the level of the skin. Through thousands of years of trial and error in human acupuncture certain combinations of points became known for treating specific ailments. These points were also helpful in the treatment of animals. Recent scientific studies have proven the literal existence of acupuncture points and how stimulation of these points has definitive and positive effects on the body’s physiology. It has been proven to affect the nervous system, improve blood flow, stimulate release of hormones, alleviate muscle spasm and relieve pain.
It is now hypothesized that acupuncture channels or meridians run both underneath the skin and around organs at the level of the fascia or connective tissue which is continuous from one end of the body to the other. Osteopathic treatment has a huge influence on fascia thought the body and this is likely the reason for the huge synergy between osteopathy and acupuncture.