Acupuncture
is a Chinese medical treatment dating back at least 3,000 years. It
involves the strategic placement of needles through the skin to activate
acupuncture points. Once activated, each point alters the body's energy
flow in specific ways to effect healing.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM), acupuncture
points lie along pathways of energy called meridians. This life
energy, or chi, can be moved and transformed to bring the body back into
balance. There are acupuncture points all over the body, including the
ears and the paws.
A more conventional explanation of acupuncture is
that most acupuncture points lie at or near peripheral nerve endings.
By stimulating these points, we in turn stimulate the nervous system to
effect a cure.
Needle insertion is relatively painless. Once
the needles are in place there is typically no discomfort, and most animals
relax quite nicely. Needles may be left in place anywhere from one to
thirty minutes, depending on the condition being treated.
Acupuncture treatments are given just a few times for
acute conditions, or several times for chronic ones. Conditions which
respond to acupuncture range from arthritis to seizures, but include any
treatable condition. Likewise, acupuncture can be safely added to
other more conventional treatment regimens such as kidney failure, after
surgery to improve healing and recovery, or in conjunction with chemotherapy
to alleviate the negative effects of chemotherapy drugs.
Only a licensed veterinarian who has received formal
training in acupuncture for animals should perform acupuncture. |
