In regards to treatments, the size of the animal and the location of the points being treated determine the length of the needles used. A short needle, about 0.5 inch, is used in points located over bony areas such as the head or face. The most common size used is about 1 inch long. For larger dogs, or use on large animals such as horses or cows, or for deeper penetration, there are longer needles available (1.5-2.0 inches). The needles are solid and very flexible, and presterilised disposable ones are an option.
In the hands of a properly trained clinician, the animal does not appear to have any discomfort at all during treatments. Inserting the needles to the proper depth and angle, manipulating them during the treatment and removing them all are techniques that can be achieved only through training and extensive practice. This is why it is so important to consult a properly certified veterinary acupuncturist.
In the general treatment of ailments, it may take three to five sessions to know if acupuncture therapy will be effective, although a response might be seen even after the first treatment. Improvements are often noticed after the third. Treatments may last from a few minutes to 30 minutes or more and may be recommended once or twice weekly, monthly, or even once every several months. The long-term goal is always to fix the number of treatments to the minimum required for effectiveness. Both frequency and duration of treatment depend on the animal and the ailment.
What Can Be Treated?
Acupuncture, in combination with other TCM or Western medicine, may be considered supportive or add-on therapy for a vast array of other conditions. The UCLA Acupuncture Research Project found various forms of acupuncture were effective for pain relief for various orthopedic, obstetric and surgical procedures; treatment of chronic pain; sensorineural hearing loss; compulsive disorders such as obesity and tobacco and drug addiction; and bronchial asthma.
In other studies conducted on both humans and dogs, acupuncture was found to be beneficial in cases where analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications had been ineffective or had demonstrated side effects and in cases where surgery was not recommended. For example, many practitioners are pleased with the results of acupuncture in treating arthritis in both humans and canines. One study found that acupuncture enhanced the efficacy of antibiotic treatment for canine otitis crises.
Favorable acupuncture results have been reported in the treatment of many other canine conditions, including the following: cardiovascular disorders, chronic respiratory conditions, dermatological disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, gynecological disorders, immune-mediated disorders, male reproductive disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological disorders, reproductive disorders, thoracolumbar, cervical disc disease, and many other illnesses. Deciding if your dog should be treated with acupuncture therapy often depends on the dog itself and the condition afflicting it. "My attitude is that with each and every animal with each and every condition, you look at what the best comprehensive integrative approach is and develop a therapeutic plan for that animal," explains Allen Schoen, DVM, co-editor of "Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: Principles and Practice" (Mosby 1998). "Sometimes acupuncture is used as a last resort; at other times it may be chosen as the first approach, for example, if surgery would have potential complications, and only if acupuncture didn't work would you consider surgery."
How Does it Work?
You may be wondering about the science behind the technique and if there is any clinical evidence of effectiveness that will withstand modern Western scrutiny. The answer is a most definite "YES." Some modern practitioners feel that at its most basic level, acupuncture is applied neurophysiology. We may one day be able to explain acupuncture in those terms. Today, Western science still has a poor understanding of its mechanisms. However, the body of anecdotal evidence supporting its effectiveness is overwhelming. One only has to watch surgery under acupuncture anesthesia to comprehend that something significant and unfamiliar to the Western way of thinking is going on. The World Health Organization concluded in 1979 that "Acupuncture is clearly not a universal remedy for all ills but sheer weight of evidence demands that acupuncture must be taken seriously as a clinical procedure of considerable value."
In addition an astounding 4000 years of application on a sizeable segment of the world's population makes acupuncture arguably the most widely practiced and thoroughly tested medical technique ever in history.
In 1998 the American Veterinary Medical Association took this position in its "Guidelines for Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine" approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association: "Veterinary acupuncture and acutherapy are considered an integral part of veterinary medicine. These techniques should be regarded as surgical and/or medical procedures under state veterinary practice acts. It is recommended that educational programs be undertaken by veterinarians before they are considered competent to practice veterinary acupuncture."
There are many theories to suggest why acupuncture works and what these theories have in common is the stimulation of acupuncture points via insertion of small needles, application of pressure, cupping (suction) and application of heat through moxibustion (which can be used to raise the temperature of the needles), or infrared, laser, or electrical stimulation coax the body into healing itself with our own incredible internal healing abilities given to us by mother nature.
Basic ideas of Chinese medicine
Chinese medicine views the body as a small part of the universe, and subject to universal laws and principles of harmony and balance. Chinese medicine does not draw a sharp line, as Western medicine does, between mind and body. The Chinese system believes that emotions and mental states are every bit as influential on disease as purely physical mechanisms, and considers factors like work, environment, lifestyle, and relationships as fundamental to the overall picture of a patient's health. Chinese medicine also uses very different symbols and ideas to discuss the body and health. While Western medicine typically describes health in terms of measurable physical processes made up of chemical reactions, the Chinese use ideas like yin and yang, chi, the organ system, and the five elements to describe health and the body. To understand the ideas behind acupuncture, it is worthwhile to introduce some of these basic terms.
Yin and yang
According to Chinese philosophy, the universe and the body can be described by two separate but complementary principles, that of yin and yang. For example, in temperature, yin is cold and yang is hot. In gender, yin is female and yang is male. In activity, yin is passive and yang is active. In light, yin is dark and yang is bright; in direction yin is inward and downward and yang is outward and up, and so on. Nothing is ever completely yin or yang, but a combination of the two. These two principles are always interacting, opposing, and influencing each other. The goal of Chinese medicine is not to eliminate either yin or yang, but to allow the two to balance each other and exist harmoniously together. For instance, if a person suffers from symptoms of high blood pressure, the Chinese system would say that the heart organ might have too much yang, and would recommend methods either to reduce the yang or to increase the yin of the heart, depending on the other symptoms and organs in the body. Thus, acupuncture therapies seek to either increase or reduce yang, or increase or reduce yin in particular regions of the body.
Qi
Another fundamental concept of Chinese medicine is that of qi (pronounced chee , also spelled chi ). Chi is the fundamental life energy of the universe. It is invisible and is found in the environment in the air, water, food and sunlight. In the body, it is the invisible vital force that creates and animates life. We are all born with inherited amounts of chi, and we also get acquired chi from the food we eat and the air we breathe. The level and quality of a person's chi also depends on the state of physical, mental and emotional balance. Chi travels through the body along channels called meridians.
The organ system
In the Chinese system, there are twelve main organs: the lung, large intestine, stomach, spleen, heart, small intestine, urinary bladder, kidney, liver, gallbladder, pericardium, and the "triple warmer," which represents the entire torso region. Each organ has chi energy associated with it, and each organ interacts with particular emotions on the mental level. As there are twelve organs, there are twelve types of chi which can move through the body, and these move through twelve main channels or meridians. Chinese doctors connect symptoms to organs. That is, symptoms are caused by yin/yang imbalances in one or more organs, or by an unhealthy flow of chi to or from one organ to another. Each organ has a different profile of symptoms it can manifest.
The five elements
Another basis of Chinese theory is that the world and body are made up of five main elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These elements are all interconnected, and each element either generates or controls another element. For instance, water controls fire and earth generates metal. Each organ is associated with one of the five elements. The Chinese system uses elements and organs to describe and treat conditions. For instance, the kidney is associated with water and the heart is associated with fire, and the two organs are related as water and fire are related. If the kidney is weak, then there might be a corresponding fire problem in the heart, so treatment might be made by acupuncture or herbs to cool the heart system and/or increase energy in the kidney system.
The Chinese have developed an intricate system of how organs and elements are related to physical and mental symptoms, and the above example is a very simple one. Although this system sounds suspect to Western scientists, some interesting parallels have been observed. For instance, Western medicine has observed that with severe heart problems, kidney failure often follows, but it still does not know exactly why. In Chinese medicine, this connection between the two organs has long been established.
In the narrowest sense, acupuncture is the application of small-gauge needles to various points on the body. The purpose is to elicit a physiological response in the body to treat almost any disease or condition. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) teachings state; channels of energy flow throughout the body, and disease is caused by too much or too little flow of energy along these channels. Points along the channels, called meridians, are manipulated with acupuncture. In a broader sense, acupuncture is an ancient procedure used in TCM for the treatment of whole-body conditions. The difference between the conventional western system of treatment and the system of TCM really boils down to this: In Western medicine, the same disease or condition normally is treated the same way in all patients; in TCM, the same condition may and most probably will be treated differently in different patients because the underlying causes may differ.