Could your pet benefit from acupuncture treatment?
Posted July 02, 2018
If
you’ve ever wanted to try a safe and effective form of alternative
medicine for your pet, consider acupuncture.
Part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, the act of
inserting small needles in certain parts in the body, can offer
many benefits to a variety of pets, according to Dr. Daniel Eckman,
a veterinarian at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
& Biomedical Sciences. The needles can be plain or accompanied
with gentle currents of electricity, medication, or burning
herbs.
Although the idea of needles sounds painful, Eckman said that
pets tend to tolerate acupuncture well and may even go to sleep
during treatment.
When performed by trained and skilled veterinarians, acupuncture
is safe and side effects and complications, such as piercing a
nerve, are rare.
“Acupuncture can be used to treat many conditions, including
pain, skin disorders, and problems in the liver, kidney, heart,
respiratory system, nervous system, gastrointestinal, ocular,
urinary tract, and reproductive system,” Eckman said.
Acupuncture can also help with anxiety disorders and pain
management.
“Acupuncture is great to use for pain control,” Eckman said.
“Recent studies have shown that acupuncture can be equally as
effective as opiates but with no addictive side effects.”
Eckman adds that acupuncture can be added at any time in the
treatment course, but the earlier the better.
If you would like to learn more about acupuncture as a treatment
for your pet, Eckman recommends talking to your veterinarian to see
if they work with a veterinary acupuncturist.
You can also visit these three websites to find veterinary
acupuncturists near you:
Curacore’s Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians, at https://curacore.org/find-a-practitioner/
International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, at https://www.ivas.org/vets/
Chi Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, at http://www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx
If you’re looking for a way to enhance your pet’s current
treatment plan or find a natural way to heal your pet, acupuncture
may be a good fit for your furry friend.
Pet Talk is a service of the Texas A&M College of
Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Stories can be
viewed on the Web at vetmed.tamu.edu/pettalk.
Suggestions for future topics may be directed to editor@cvm.tamu.edu.
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