The Windsor Journal

Have you ever wondered if acupuncture could possibly help your pet?

Acupuncture, which is stimulation of specific points on the body (most often performed with small needles), can help many conditions. Most commonly acupuncture is used to help with arthritis pain and neurologic conditions such as degenerative disc disease or nerve injury. It can also help with kidney disease, heart problems, epilepsy, allergy, anxiety, immune-mediated diseases, side effects of chemotherapy, and other conditions. Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to help people and animals. Because it treats the body as a whole (holistic) acupuncture enables the body to unlock its own healing powers.

What happens during an acupuncture treatment?

Tiny, extremely thin needles are inserted by the doctor at acupoints chosen based on the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) exam. The veterinary acupuncturist will evaluate your pet from both a Western and Eastern/TCM perspective. This helps them to choose the points that they feel will specifically benefit your pet the most. In many cases, wire leads will then be attached to certain needles and a very low electric current will be run through for 5-15 minutes to achieve a greater stimulation. In my experience, the animals do not seem to mind this at all. Many will fall asleep during treatment. For some cases aquapuncture (injection of a sterile solution into an acupoint) may be performed. This achieves a longer stimulation and effect than needles alone.

How does acupuncture work?

While we still do not know all of the physiological effects of acupuncture, we do know that stimulation of acupuncture points has a definite effect on the nervous system. These effects can be both local (near the site of the point) and distant or central. There is significant evidence that acupuncture induces the release of various substances in the body. These include substances to decrease pain, regulate blood flow, to decrease inflammation, and/or to stimulate a specific organ

Can acupuncture replace medications?

If your pet receives acupuncture, you will still need to give him/her their previous medication(s). However, many patients may be able to wean down the dose of their medication or discontinue it if acupuncture is used. This is an important benefit of acupuncture as an adjunct to Western treatment as many Western medications can have undesirable side effects, especially with long-term usage. This includes NSAIDS (Rimadyl, carprofen, Metacam, Deramaxx, and others) for arthritis as they may affect the liver and kidney with long term use. The bottom line is that many conditions (especially arthritis) will respond better to a combination of Western medicines, acupuncture, and herbal remedies than any one of these methods used alone.

If you or your veterinarian has questions about whether or not acupuncture can help your pet, you may contact Dr. Katz at New England Veterinary Center and Cancer Care at 860-688-8400.

Share this post