Acupuncture
Acupuncture, a key component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has been practiced for thousands of years to maintain health and treat a wide variety of conditions in humans.
In recent decades, acupuncture has gained traction in the field of veterinary medicine as a complementary therapy for pets, offering a natural and non-invasive approach to support their well-being.
Below write-up will provide an introduction to acupuncture for pets, discussing its history, application, and potential benefits.
Acupuncture literally means to insert needles into certain points on the body to aid in healing. Each points follow a meridian channel along which Qi flows. Acupuncture has been practiced by the Chinese for thousands of years.
Veterinary acupuncture uses the knowledge gained from human beings and transposing the classical points to the animals. However, TCVM is a discipline that involves not only acupuncture but also herbal medicine, nutrition as well as Tuina.
Herbal Medicine uses herbs from the Chinese Herbal Materia Medica in certain combinations to treat particular disease patterns. They are administered orally in pills or capsules.
Food Therapy refers to the use of diet to treat and prevent imbalance within the body. It uses the understanding of the energetics of food ingredients to tailor diets for individual animals. It is similar to when we are “heaty” when we eat too much fried food and out body will crave for the cooling effects of fruits and vegetables. It strives to balance the yin and yang.
Tui Na is a form of Chinese massage that is applied along the meridian points, allowing manipulations to promote the circulation of qi and correct imbalance within the organ systems.
TCVM is seen as a complementary form of therapy and is best used in conjunction with Western Veterinary Medicine. TCVM is a holistic approach to assess the well-being of the patient and treatments are usually noninvasive with few side effects.
However, on the other hand, it cannot help to pinpoint illness to specific diseases. Hence a combination of both treatments is the best.
For first-time client seeking TCM treatment, an initial consultation would be needed to determine the appropriate treatment for your pet.
To facilitate this, we would also request for the medical history of your pet.