While more and more people are turning to complementary wellness techniques, there are certainly still a few sceptics out there. That said, there are even more sceptics about using such techniques for animal wellbeing. Wellness writer PF Louis admits, ‘Yes, people are getting acupuncture treatments for the pets, and some veterinarians have been trained to perform acupuncture. It not only works, it works when conventional approaches fail.’ So, can acupuncture really help pet wellness?
Louis details, ‘Evidently, veterinarian acupuncture started as a branch of TCM during the Zhou dynasty (1122-770 BC). The focus was on farm animals and war horses. Veterinarian acupuncture emerged in the US along with TCM for humans in the 1970s. Despite being considered alternative or complementary, the procedure for diagnosing exactly what meridian map and acupoints to use is very thorough. The vet may smell the animal’s mouth or nose, perform some simple movement tests, and ask the pet’s owner lots of questions. TCM looks at the whole health picture to determine the underlying causes of symptoms instead of grabbing prescriptions dedicated to one size fits all with potential side effects. When those small, thin needles are used on animals, they show no signs of discomfort, and it’s okay if they move around the room. Unlike humans, dogs and cats aren’t required to remain still for 20 minutes per session.’
According to Louis, ‘Some serious MD blowhards claim all benefits derived from acupuncture are from a placebo effect because they don’t have a Western medical explanation for it’s efficacy. They don’t attempt to understand Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles, which are very different than the molecular-biochemical Western point of view. They would be hard-pressed to come up with the placebo effect explanation for animals. Maybe the dog knows his master is hauling him off to a vet to fix his lower back so he can walk properly. And when that vet starts sticking needles into his back, the dog is thinking, “I know this is gonna fix me so I can walk better and run. I believe in this stuff, I’ve read about it.” Right, of course. It’s that ole’ placebo effect again.’
For Louis, if you can’t ask the animals about acupuncture, the next best thing is to ask their owner. ‘It’s more convincing to see or read about actual case cures that are not curable or made worse by conventional treatments than all of Big Pharma’s claims based on “scientific evidence,”’ says Louis. ‘An interesting story involves a veterinarian who was considering dropping out of acupuncture training after the first session of classes had ended. The whole acupuncture thing was too weird for him. Upon arriving at his home, he discovered his pet Dachshund was paralysed, and his clinical associate couldn’t improve his condition. So the vet, William Martin, became desperate enough to call one of the acupuncture teachers.’ Martin recalls, ‘Over the telephone we did some hands-on diagnostics. He told me where and how to insert regular hypodermic needles in acupuncture points.’ The Dachshund was standing within four hours, and Martin continued with course from then on in.
Louis goes on, ‘Marlene Cimmons, a science writer and former health policy writer for the Washington Post, shared her Labrador’s urinary incontinence acupuncture cure in that paper’s “Health and Science” section recently. After medications for her 11-year-old Lab caused more harm then good, her vet suggested Marlene look into acupuncture. Marlene knew it worked for humans because it had worked for her. After a few treatments, her Lab no longer woke up in her doggie bed soaked with urine. She was cured.’
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