Acupuncture In Domestic Animals

Holistic medicine is a fairly uncommon practice that is now gaining popularity widespread in not just the treatment of humans, but animals as well. In fact, more and more people are going through classes to become certified to work on animals as this offers a drug free pain and stress relief option. Two major branches in the veterinary holistic care are acupuncture and massage. These, like other aspects of medicine worldwide, are approached differently based on the species, age, and function of the patient as well as the learnings of the therapist and doctor following the procedures. As this is not new technology but is becoming more commonly seen, this is an important aspect to understand in the veterinary medicine world. Many analgesics

Mittleman and J.S. Gaynor (2000) with their article of “A Brief Overview of the Analgesic and Immunologic Effects of Acupuncture in Domestic Animals” look at a more specific type of animals seen in the veterinary industry. This article gives a quick insight as to what exactly acupuncture is, understanding acupuncture, characteristics of acupuncture, pain relief from the use of acupuncture, the use of opioids versus holistic medicine, and changes in the blood flow, nervous system and immune system. Acupuncture is an ancient medical healing method used for centuries, even back to the BC era! While the information was limited back then, they unwittingly opened a door into holistic medicine popular today. In accessing points under the skin, the stressed fibers are relaxed and realign properly, giving the muscles compensating for their tension relief as well. Shown effects of acupuncture include the activation of the body’s pain modulatory systems releasing relaxation chemicals. The application of acupuncture by a trained professional has been proven to activate the central and automatic nervous system along with the immune system, creating a wholesome

However, these practices take into account the global practices of acupuncture and is not specifically used in American medicine let alone veterinary medicine. It is not surprising that as china was the origin of acupuncture, that they were the first ones to publish holistic animal care such as Si Mu An Ji Ji (A Collection of Ways to Relieve Suffering Horses) believed to have been written around 618-907 AD. Even though this article was written nearly 18 years ago, the article has retained its relevance. Even a newer from of treatment, or electroacupuncture, is listed as causing “changes in the morphologic characteristics and alignment of collagen fibers” (Mittleman & Gaynor, 2000, p. 1202), allowing the fibers to the body to relax and realign to reduce stressing other fibers. The activation of the body’s nervous system releasing the chemicals dopamine and serotonin has also been studied. In fact, it was discovered that the analgesia from acupuncture could be reversed from naloxone, today referred to as Narcan. This lead to the knowledge that the pain relief was likely due to a system