Acupuncture Is Not Voodoo

While our modern world is gingerly re-discovering this traditional Chinese therapeutic technique, it's origins might date as far as the Stone Age. Even though throughout modern history acupuncture had many opponents, it held its own and it seems to be slowly gaining ground.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a technique that uses small needles to stimulate special points on your dog's body in order to encourage healing and relieve pain. Acupuncture points correspond with specific internal organ systems and regulate energy and blood flow throughout your dog's body.

The method of stimulating these points is shared among a number of other therapeutic techniques such as acupressure and laser acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture for dogs?

There certainly is evidence that acupuncture can be beneficial for a number of conditions in dogs. One of my friends has an arthritic dog who cannot tolerate NSAIDs. The dog is responding to the acupuncture treatment very well and it is safe to say that the results are more than comparable.

Dogs with arthritis and hip dysplasia can find relief through acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture can be used to treat musculoskeletal disorders, immune-mediated disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, neurological disorders and more.

Unlike NSAIDs or other drugs, acupuncture is very safe when performed by a qualified professional.

We used stem cell regenerative therapy for Jasmine's arthritis and we swear by this treatment. However, we were doing acupressure as part of her post-operative treatment and  Jasmine is getting herbal and acupuncture treatment for her digestive problems.

A safer alternative to drugs

While drugs are an easy and convenient form of treatment, they can often cause more problems than they solve. We certainly had some very bad experiences with drugs. Today my philosophy is to look at everything else first before considering drugs.

Before reaching for medication do your research and talk to your veterinarian about alternatives. Get a consultation with a holistic or Traditional Chinese Medicine veterinarian. There are many conditions that can benefit from non-drug alternative treatments, such as acupuncture, that is safer and often even cheaper.

Related articles:
Friends Or Foes: NSAIDS
Talk To Me About Arthritis
The Many Faces Of Arthritis: Viva Has Spondylosis
Acupuncture For Your Pet?
Acupuncture for Dogs Gaining Acceptance

Comments

  1. Well Acupuncture is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine , one of the oldest continuous systems of medicine dating back 4000 years. Acupuncture is a safe and effective healing art backed by more than two thousand years of practice and research. Acupuncture treatments can therefore help the body's internal organs to correct imbalances in their digestion, absorption, and energy production activities.

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  2. Dear Peter. Thank you for your comment! There are still a lot of veterinarians that frown on these techniques as ineffective, and a lot of dog owners who just never heard of it as an option for their dog. But I do know for a fact that this can work.

    Acupuncture treatment can be a good and safer alternative to NSAIDs and more. I believe it is good for dog owners to realize that there are more than one option when it goes to the treatment of arthritis and other conditions.

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  3. Interesting comment on acupuncture.

    Until it is understood more clearly in scientific terms, it probably will be used as one modality within a program treatment.

    However, it is interesting seeing ancient approaches being brought into the current medical framework!

    The push towards natural treatments is certainly a fantastic development for modern vetinarinary (and human!) medical science!

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  4. To me, the main thing about these treatments is their safety in comparison to drugs.

    A lot of these things make great sense, and are substantially safer. After Jasmine's two near death experiences both induced by drugs, I became open to other solutions.

    And they can work, often even better than drugs would.

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  5. I have not had first hand experience with acupuncture on my pets but I can tell you that I go for treatments for myself and I swear by it. I would not hesitate to try it on my fur-crew if the need arose. While we don't necessarily understand the mode of action or how acupuncture fully works, there are many scientific papers written about the effectiveness of this treatment and it's ability to help relieve discomfort and pain.

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  6. Hi Jen, awesome that you had such a great experience! We used some acupuncture to deal with Jasmine's episodes and we were please with how it helped.

    And of course there is Viva's story, acupuncture really helped her out with her spondylosis.

    I think that not understanding how something works doesn't interfere with it working. Gravity worked long before before we got some concept of it. Same with many other things.

    Most importantly, it is so much safer than drug use!

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