Acupuncture for Animals
The benefits of animal acupuncture have been recognized for thousands of years in the Eastern medicine. Only in the last 50 years has Western medicine began to understand and accept the benefits of acupuncture. If you want to know more about the benefits of animal acupuncture, what acupuncture is and how it can help your pet, then this article is for you.
What is acupuncture?
In Latin “acu” means needle and “puncte” to pierce.
Acupuncture is the use of stimulating specific points on the body to produce a response. Or more specifically to treat regulate or treat conditions and ailments. Needles are usually used to stimulate acupuncture points, but laser stimulation, aquapuncture, electroacupuncture and moxa are also used. Acupuncture is most known for treating pain. However, is also useful in addressing anxiety, skin issues, regulating diabetes, relieving laryngeal paralysis, boosting the immune system, gastrointestinal disorders, and more.
Being an ancient method of treating ailments, acupuncture is often shrouded in mystery. It was practiced in China over 4,000 years ago and spread to other Eastern countries. There is also evidence that herbal medicine and acupuncture were likely practiced in other cultures, as evidenced by the “Ice Man” discovery.
Acupuncture is based on antient understanding of energy and flow. It recognizes specific points on special meridian channels across the body that can be stimulated to help alleviate ailments. Although modern Western medicine has difficulty explaining or accepting Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) philosophy, Western physicians have adopted the technique.
The basic tenant of acupuncture simple. It is based upon the point you select, method
of stimulation, and the effect it has.
Scientific Basis for Acupuncture Benefits?
History of scientific study
There were very few truly scientific studies prior to 1971. However, when the New York Times editor
visited China, he became quite ill. He
was treated with acupuncture and made a speedy and full recovery. He wrote
about his experience which garnered the attention of President Nixon. Nixon then directed his people to look into acupuncture
as treatment options. Since then, more and more studies have been conducted
regarding acupuncture. At least 10% of
all research on acupuncture is animal focused.
A simple PubMed search will produce thousands of articles related to
acupuncture.
More recent studies have looked at how acupuncture works and what conditions are likely to benefit from treatment. Western medicine has readily accepted that acupuncture is useful in treating pain. To that effect, in 1997 the Nation Institute of Health (NIH) officially declared the effectiveness of acupuncture in alleviating musculoskeletal and joint pain. The NIH also recognizes that there is strong evidence that acupuncture can also treat many gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhea, constipation, dyspepsia, ulcers, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. They also concede that acupuncture is likely valid in treating lung ailments and for modulating the immune system but declare more research was warranted before a consensus statement could be reached.
How does acupuncture work?
The concept of acupuncture is simple: it starts with local
effects causes by stimulation of the needle that then expands to involve the
entire neural axis. The actual system that
acupuncture stimulates is complex in action.
The tenants of acupuncture treatment are simple:
- Based on the point
- Based on the stimulation method and time to
stimulation - Based on the response
If an appropriate point for the condition is selected,
appropriately stimulated you will get a desired response.
Although the concept of acupuncture therapy is very simple,
the physiologic effects of acupuncture therapy cannot be explained by a single
mechanism. Rather, involves a series of interactions between the nervous system,
endocrine system, and immune systems.
How do we know Acupuncture works?
MRI studies were conducted looking several important factors and discovered exciting information. They showed through imaging that:
- Stimulating an acupoint causes a change in the brain
- Stimulation of different points caused different effects/visible changes in the brain.
- The effects on the brain could be predicted based on the points selected.
- The longer a point was stimulated, the more effect it had on the brain.
- The non-pain points did not affect pain modulating areas of the brain while those points associated with pain relief did.
We can also measure chemical changes in the blood after stimulating acupuncture points. We can measure things like cortisol and endorphins.
Acupuncture points are physical structures, not just imaginary, random points on the body. They are areas with measurable decrease electrical resistance and increased electrical conductivity. There is also a high density of free nerve endings, arterioles, lymphatic vessels and mast cells at acupuncture points. They are usually located where neurovascular bundles and nerves penetrate the body fascia and were nerves bifurcate.
Acupuncture points usually lie along meridians. Research has shown that stimulation of one
point on a meridian will lower electrical resistance at another point on the
same meridian. These changes do not occur for points not on the meridian. Also, injection of radio-isotopes into one
point will eventually accumulate at other points. Another interesting finding showed that radio
signals placed over one acupuncture point can be picked up at other AP points
along the meridian.
The positive pain effects acupuncture has can be chemically reversed or blocked. For example, acupuncture causes a release of enkephalins, the same as an opioid would. Naloxone can reverse the effects these substances have, just as naloxone can for morphine.
So what does this all really mean for the benefits of animal acupuncture? We know acupuncture points exist physically and that these points “talk” to each other on a molecular level. We also know that stimulating acupuncture points causes numerous, complex, simultaneous changes in the body.
How can Animal Acupuncture Benefit My Pet?
Acupuncture has many benefits. It can treat for chronic musculoskeletal pain, chronic arthritis, and acute injuries. In addition, acupuncture can treat gastrointestinal disorders, achieving excellent results. Some less common known conditions that acupuncture has documented effects on are laryngeal paralysis, infertility, autoimmune issues, and some endocrine issues. For more information, visit the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society.
Animal Acupuncture: A Magic Cure?
There is no such thing as a magic cure, pill or elixir. The benefits of Acupuncture included. Anyone who says otherwise is not truly taking a Holistic approach to medicine. Acupuncture is a cornerstone for integrative veterinary medicine. A Holist medical approach means considering each patient as an individual, not just a disease. It means considering using pharmacology for pain relief, herbs when necessary, and making sure preventative medicine is implemented (using heartworm prevention, proper vaccinations, etc). Only an experienced, if not certified, veterinarian should administer acupuncture.