Acupuncture Overview

Similar to human usage, acupuncture is gaining popularity in treating dogs.

According to Wikipedia, Veterinary acupuncture is the practice of performing acupuncture on animals.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Acupuncture may be defined as the insertion of needles into specific points on the body to cause a desired healing effect. This technique has been used in veterinary practice in China, in a very limited form, to treat certain ailments. The Chinese also use acupuncture as preventive medicine against such problems as founder and colic in horses.

The major emergence of Veterinary Acupuncture onto the medical scene did not actually take place until the early 1970’s. Oddly enough, this did not occur in China, but in the United States. Veterinary Acupuncture was introduced into the United States in 1971, by members of the National Acupuncture Associations research team: Dr. Gene Bruno and Dr. John Ottaviano. In the process of treating thousands of small animals and several hundred horses, Bruno and Ottaviano trained Veterinarians who later founded the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS).[1]

Veterinary Acupuncture is used all over the world, either by itself or in conjunction with Western medicine, to treat a wide variety of maladies in every species of domestic and exotic animals. Modern veterinary acupuncturists use solid needles, hypodermic needles, bleeding needles, electricity, heat, massage and low power lasers to stimulate acupuncture points. Acupuncture is not a cure-all, but can work very well when it is indicated.

Acupuncture is indicated mainly for functional problems such as those that involve paralysis, noninfectious inflammation (such as allergies), and pain. For small animals, the following are some of the general conditions that are treated with acupuncture:

• Musculoskeletal problems, such as arthritis or vertebral disc pathology, and hip dysplasia • Skin problems, such as lick granuloma • Respiratory problems, such as feline asthma • Gastrointestinal problems, such as diarrhea • Selected reproductive problems

For large animals, acupuncture is again commonly used for functional problems. Some of the general conditions where it might be applied are the following:

• Musculoskeletal problems, such as sore backs or downer cow syndrome • Nervous system problems, such as facial nerve paralysis • Skin problems, such as allergic dermatitis • Respiratory problems, such as heaves (emphesema) and “Bleeders” • Gastrointestinal problems, such as nonsurgical colic • Selected reproductive disorders

In addition, regular acupuncture treatment can treat minor sports injuries as they occur and help to keep muscles and tendons resistant to injury. World-class professional and amateur athletes often use acupuncture as a routine part of their training. Acupuncture is used on many animals involved athletic endeavors, such as racing, jumping, or showing.

Acupuncture calms stress, a veteran's woes

Needles punctured my ears for the first time in my life this week.

Acupuncture was being offered for one free session to veterans on Veterans’ Day, and I appeared at the WON Institute in Glenside, PA, to take advantage of the procedure. The practitioner, Ed Cunningham, was kind, offering me some cheese and crackers as we made small talk and I got ready for the event.

I sat in a regular metal chair (It may have had some padding, I recall). The room was in a building where students earn masters’ degrees in various forms of meditation, as well as acupuncture. (acupuncture@woninstitute.edu)  I cleaned my ears with a small alcoholic rub that was provided. Standing behind me, I could not see Practioner Cunningham hold the needles, but I felt the first “pin prick” on  my left ear. I believe three more needles followed, each slightly higher than the previous.

After completing the other ear, a procedure that took all of two minutes, a needle was stuck in the top of my head, where I was told the “chi” rested. I think it was used to help energy flow better.

I felt just the opposite take place!

I felt sedated. Almost numb.

Not so much with my body, but with my anxieties. I had none, and I felt their loss with a happy sweet sorrow. Sorrow, hell. I experienced a wonderful feeling of freedom. Freedom from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and all other agitators!

Sedated. He could have taken my tonsils out and I would not have cared. I could feel no harm and I was as peaceful as I have ever felt through meditation.

And I did not have to wait long minutes to reach this state of awareness. It came within 60 seconds of the last needle. Instructed to close my eyes like in meditation, I relaxed with nary a thought for some 25 minutes. I did not experience the same “lightness” as in a meditation. The relaxation was more palpable, more “heavy,” so to speak. I was free of all worries about the past and/or the future, and completely immersed in the moment being at one with my breathing and the contact my body had, feet to the floor, arms on my lap, and buttocks on the chair. Like in meditation, I felt a “oneness” with the physical properties I touched. A “oneness” with the comfortable temperature inside the room and the slight taste of salsa my taste buds had still noticed from the snack I consumed minutes earlier.

Nothing this good could go on forever, and I slowly opened my eyes. The practitioner was seated on one of the chairs. He had moved around while my eyes were closed, but the sounds he made adjusting a table or dropping a package somewhere did not bother me or my relaxation. It was simply part of an environment that was engaged with me, engaged with my ease and comfort.

One of the doctors who had opened this clinic some six years earlier had come into the room. We had chatted before in the waiting room. He was native of South Korea and served in the medical corps in his homeland. As a captain, he outranked me, and I saluted him, wishing him a pleasant “Veterans Day” before leaving.

The procedure invigorated me and energized me, while at the same time I felt calm and peaceful the rest of the afternoon and night, and even now, several days later,  I still can remember the “wellness,” I felt come over me with acupuncture. I hope to return to the institute for a possible follow-up procedure. You see, I have this bad back and if more  needles could help me, I will gladly offer it up as a pin cushion.

Stuff Chinese People Like #7

Chinese medicine

Acupuncture aside, Chinese people (especially the elderly) will swear by Chinese medicine. Whether this is balm, oil – yes, oil – or the type that you eat, there is a remedy for anything that ails you. You attract mosquitoes? There is an oil for that (even though it smells). Your joints are aching? There is a balm for that (even though it smells). You’re just sick in some way? There are herbal concoctions for that (yes, it smells). The irony is that Chinese herbal shops don’t smell that badly; they actually smell quite pleasant.

A Chinese person will usually bypass all Western medicine, citing the horrible side effects it incurs, such as tiredness and nausea. Drinking herbal concoctions that reek of last month’s garbage collection is much preferable, because this only lasts as long as you are drinking the thick, ink-black liquid. And if you’re Chinese, you would know that the best way to take this is: extremely quickly. While holding your breath. This is unfortunately  quite difficult as it is imperative that you take the medicine while it is scalding hot. What results is a painfully slow sip-by-sip ingestion, which allows the taste to swirl around in your mouth, swelling in the taste buds until you wonder why you didn’t just take the harmless, tasteless, pill that Doctor Martin prescribed you and take a long nap instead of listening to your (well-meaning) mother.

*After a few days, the smell will have been aired out and gone, and magically, so will your illness. Yeah, it works. Don’t ask me why.

How Do You Spell Proven Relief from Colds and Flu? A-C-U-P-U-N-C-T-U-R-E!!

OK, you’ve done everything possible – taken your Vitamin C (and Vitamin D, as some experts claim), eaten a well-balanced diet, gotten your rest, exercised regularly, and _____________ (you fill in the blank); however, somewhere, somehow, your immune system had a moment – just a MOMENT – of weakness, and before you knew it, you were sniffly, sneezy, achy, and just plain sick! So, now what? Are you doomed to the full, standard duration of the cold or flu?

Not necessarily! In my office, I have successfully treated many patients with colds and flu symptoms. In fact, if the patient visits the office as soon as symptoms appear (chills and fever, sore throat, body aches, headaches, and even vomiting), acupuncture has relieved all pain and has even stopped nausea and vomiting. I’ve even been able to relieve a sore throat in 15-30 minutes!

Don’t just take my word for it: Scientists at the Beijing College of Acupuncture & Orthopedics reported the favorable results of a trial with fifty-seven patients, all of whom were suffering from a cold, influenza, acute tonsillitis, or acute bronchitis. All participants were treated with acupuncture at specific related points on the body:

• Dazhui (Du 14) which releases heat from the body
• Fengchi (GB20)which releases toxic wind, benefits the head and eyes, clears the sense organs, and activates the channel to alleviate pain,
• Feishu (UB13)which tonifies the Lung Qi, nourishes the Lung yin, descends the Lung Qi, clears heat from the Lungs, and releases the exterior of the body from toxins causing aches and pains, and
• Quchi (LI11)which also clears heat, cools the blood, eliminates wind, drains damp, eliminates itching, regulates the flow of Qi and Blood, and activates the channel and alleviates pain.

The results: 80% of the patients reported the treatment as “effective” or “markedly effective”!

So, think twice before you reach for the medicine chest to temporarily alleviate your symptoms (often for a far shorter duration than the recommended dosages). Try acupuncture as soon as symptoms set in, and you can minimize the severity and length of the cold or flu… don’t be sick for weeks! Acupuncture can help you get well!

Add in the source of the study at the bottom in small text…