I wrote an article for ehow. to access it visit ehow.com and search for how to understand pet acupuncture.
Thanks.
Voltaire
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Animal Acupuncture- Basic Information
Acupuncture principles in animal medicine has evolved from human chinese medicine. It is a holistic or wholistic view of a person and in our case, an animal. Looking at patients the holistic way, you do not look at symptoms in isolation. You look at the sum total of the characteristics, preferences, signs and symptoms of the animal. In chinese medicine, this symptoms and signs are analysed using the five element approach (which we will not be discussing here) and the 8 principle approach. The 8 principle approach classifies medical problems as as being either Yin or Yang, Excess or Deficient, Hot or Cold, or Internal or External. Notice that the total number of these classifications is 8 - thus it is called 8 priciples.
The body is (in chinese medical theory) ideally in balance, a yin (or substance) and yang (or energy or life force). Being Yin is like the still water in a lake; it is characterised as being passive, calm; it is also being Cold, and in an animal can be a low body temperature. . Yang is the opposite of Yin - Yang is like Fire, it is being , excitable, active; it is also being Hot as in a fever in an animal; an aggressive personality etc. Deficient conditions also fall under Yin- characterized by symptoms which include weakness, lethargy, lack of zest, weak bark or meow , etc. while Excess conditions will be the opposite-a Yang type of condition or personality- the animal would be strong, hyperactive, full of life, strong bark, or meow. Internal will be classified as Yin- more related to the inside of the body - and medical conditions under this would be characterized by prolonged or chronic problems- (generally greater than 4 weeks duration) Diabetes is an example of a yin condition, while External would be classified as Yang-affecting mostly the outside of the body; they are usually acute conditions, generally of few days to a week duration. Traumatic injuries can be seen a Yang.
So if you notice, all of the 8 principles can fall under either Yin conditions (cold, deficient, internal) and Yang conditions (hot, exces, external). With this information, the practitioner can diagnose and treat the patient. Of course with the advent of modern medicine, the best practitioners would be integrative, using a mixture of the best of both worlds, chinese medicine and western conventional medicine to address disease in animals( and people).
The body is (in chinese medical theory) ideally in balance, a yin (or substance) and yang (or energy or life force). Being Yin is like the still water in a lake; it is characterised as being passive, calm; it is also being Cold, and in an animal can be a low body temperature. . Yang is the opposite of Yin - Yang is like Fire, it is being , excitable, active; it is also being Hot as in a fever in an animal; an aggressive personality etc. Deficient conditions also fall under Yin- characterized by symptoms which include weakness, lethargy, lack of zest, weak bark or meow , etc. while Excess conditions will be the opposite-a Yang type of condition or personality- the animal would be strong, hyperactive, full of life, strong bark, or meow. Internal will be classified as Yin- more related to the inside of the body - and medical conditions under this would be characterized by prolonged or chronic problems- (generally greater than 4 weeks duration) Diabetes is an example of a yin condition, while External would be classified as Yang-affecting mostly the outside of the body; they are usually acute conditions, generally of few days to a week duration. Traumatic injuries can be seen a Yang.
So if you notice, all of the 8 principles can fall under either Yin conditions (cold, deficient, internal) and Yang conditions (hot, exces, external). With this information, the practitioner can diagnose and treat the patient. Of course with the advent of modern medicine, the best practitioners would be integrative, using a mixture of the best of both worlds, chinese medicine and western conventional medicine to address disease in animals( and people).
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Acupuncture - does it work for cats?
Acupuncture works for cats too! Leila was a 6 year old cat I met for intestinal problems. She has was being treated for over 2 years for chronic constipation. Ms. C, brought her to me for examination. Leila was suspicious , meowing , and started hissing when I tried to examine her abdomen. I was able to glimpse her tongue which was purplish red and her pulses were rapid (she was nervous) and strong which I tried to compress but could not diminish.( this is a diagnostic technique of pulse diagnosis) It seemed that her constipation resulted from a slow buildup of her waste products and her inability to make regular bowel movements, a sort of stasis or stagnation in her body.
I proceeded to place a few needles seeing if she would tolerate the procedure. She was ok with the first needles, so I placed the second set. The points I used were meant to increase her intestinal energy, (peristalsis) and diminish the stasis or stagnation from her system which was causing her problem. After two treatments, we are happy to report that Leila is doing much better.She continues to use her prescribed medications , but with the addition of acupuncture treatments done twice a month, her bouts of constipation needing medical attention have been reduced significantly much to the relief of Mrs. C.
I proceeded to place a few needles seeing if she would tolerate the procedure. She was ok with the first needles, so I placed the second set. The points I used were meant to increase her intestinal energy, (peristalsis) and diminish the stasis or stagnation from her system which was causing her problem. After two treatments, we are happy to report that Leila is doing much better.She continues to use her prescribed medications , but with the addition of acupuncture treatments done twice a month, her bouts of constipation needing medical attention have been reduced significantly much to the relief of Mrs. C.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Acupuncture for Canine Emergency
A very interesting and exciting case comes to mind- a pregnant Shih Tzu was brought in for dystocia- difficult birth. The puppies were stuck and we had to get them out.
A cesarean section was performed and the puppies were taken out. (look up cesarean section on a google search if you dont know what it is) The mother was ok after surgery.
One puppy was alive and doing fine- the other did not start breathing despite our routine efforts to revive him. Out comes one acupuncture needle - a very short and thin one- which was applied to the philtrum area, a point called GV-26. Researchers have documented the efficacy of this point in cases of emergency to stimulate respiration , improve blood pressure and stimulate the heart.
The needle is inserted and twirled which increases the stimulating action of the procedure.
After about 3 minutes, the puppy moves his mouth and starts to take breaths on his own.
This is totally amazing. Without acupuncture intervention , this puppy would probably have died. Today, emergency veterinarians are taught this special technique of using GV-26. Who would have thought a 3000 year old technique would be taught to our ER vets today.
A cesarean section was performed and the puppies were taken out. (look up cesarean section on a google search if you dont know what it is) The mother was ok after surgery.
One puppy was alive and doing fine- the other did not start breathing despite our routine efforts to revive him. Out comes one acupuncture needle - a very short and thin one- which was applied to the philtrum area, a point called GV-26. Researchers have documented the efficacy of this point in cases of emergency to stimulate respiration , improve blood pressure and stimulate the heart.
The needle is inserted and twirled which increases the stimulating action of the procedure.
After about 3 minutes, the puppy moves his mouth and starts to take breaths on his own.
This is totally amazing. Without acupuncture intervention , this puppy would probably have died. Today, emergency veterinarians are taught this special technique of using GV-26. Who would have thought a 3000 year old technique would be taught to our ER vets today.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Canine Acupuncture- Principles
I realize that the previous post has some information which may not be familiar to a lot of people. I just had to give you some idea of what was going on in my mind when I was looking at Danny's case. Canine acupuncture and acupuncture treatment in general is based originally on Yin and Yang- the theory of opposites. For simplicity let us assume that Yin represents a negative charge, and Yang, a positive charge. The organism, be it human or animal, is ideally in a state of balance., an equal number of negative and positive charges. When this balance shifts to either a more negative or a more positive state , there is a problem.
Yin also represents a cool, calm and collected state, a description from Cheryl Swartz, a noted veterinary acupuncturist and author. It also represents the substance (our flesh and bones)of the body, Yang is more of fiery, hyper, restless state. It also represents the active movement or energy in the body i.e, the "spark" of life. There is a saying, there can be no yang where there is no Yin and vice versa. This simply means that to have energy you have to have substance from which to draw energy, and if there is no energy, there will be no substance because it takes energy to build substance.
Chinese medical theory also describes Blood, which is akin to the blood flowing through our blood vessels, Chi or Qi, which represents air or vital force, or the nutrients flowing in the blood.
Yin also represents a cool, calm and collected state, a description from Cheryl Swartz, a noted veterinary acupuncturist and author. It also represents the substance (our flesh and bones)of the body, Yang is more of fiery, hyper, restless state. It also represents the active movement or energy in the body i.e, the "spark" of life. There is a saying, there can be no yang where there is no Yin and vice versa. This simply means that to have energy you have to have substance from which to draw energy, and if there is no energy, there will be no substance because it takes energy to build substance.
Chinese medical theory also describes Blood, which is akin to the blood flowing through our blood vessels, Chi or Qi, which represents air or vital force, or the nutrients flowing in the blood.
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