Acupuncture

Traditional Chinese Medicine was brought to the US in the 1970s.  It has slowly become accepted here over  the last 4 decades.   In fact, many insurance companies are covering acupuncture treatments for their human cancer patients for the relief of pain and nausea.  Veterinary acupuncture is a newer and growing medicine. 

Trained by a Chinese doctor, Dr. Kluslow focuses not only on the conventional aspects of acupuncture, but also on the Chinese 5 Element Theory as well (wood, fire, earth, water  and wood) and the 8 Principles (heat/cold, damp/dry, interior/exterior, etc).   Nutritional and lifestyle changes may also be addressed based on these principles.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is understood that the way acupuncture works is by releasing stagnation of Qi (pronounced “chi”, a type of energy) and helping the Qi flow remain healthy.   Conventional western medicine has shown that located at the acupuncture points, the body has clusters of lymph, veinules and mast cells.  Therefore, by stimulating these points, the entire body’s immune system and biochemical pathways are affected.  Advances in neurology have also given us better understanding of the stimulation of the nervous system by the acupuncture needles.  We now understand that by modulating the input into the brain with the needles , we can alter the effectiveness of the brain’s output. 

Dr. Kluslow has treated many canine and feline patients.  The most common reason for treatment is pain or arthritis, but she has also affectively treated many medical cases as well, including kidney disease, liver disease, allergies, etc.  There is no “silver bullet” for any complex medical case, but acupuncture can often be a wonderful adjunctive therapy, allowing the other forms of treatment to be more effective.

Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapy (VSMT)

VSMT has been used on animals since the chiropractor Dr. Sharon Willoughby decided to start a veterinary program in 1988.  Since then, it has been gaining in popularity, as so many people seek chiropractic care for themselves.

By putting motion back into a hypomotile (“stuck”) joint space, we affect the biochemistry, neurology, joint surface, surrounding muscles, etc. in the area.  This can relieve the associated pain, prevent joint and neurologic degeneration and decrease the muscle spasms.  The neurologic input into the brain is also affected, allowing us to modulate the activities and output of the brain itself.

VSMT can help the canine/equine athlete stay in peak performance, relieve jaw pain in a heavy chewer, help an animal with chronic arthritis, treat a hot spot issue, etc.  Due to the ability to modulate the neurologic system, often the benefits are beyond what the owner had even imagined.

Canine Physical Rehabilitation

Physical therapy for humans has become a standard level of care for all orthopedic issues for decades, whether they've had surgery or not.  On the contrary, until this last decade, with the advance of physical rehabilitation in animals, we were often still telling our post-operative veterinary clients to have their dog in a cage, with strict rest for 6 weeks… we now know how counterproductive that is for the joints and the healing process. 

Rehabilitation can be a valuable tool for post-op healing, but also post injury, fitness, weight loss, arthritic patients, keeping athletes in tip-top shape and invaluable for preventing injury.  It is becoming a mainstay in veterinary medicine as well. 

Rehabilitation includes things as simple as the owners learning at-home joint mobilizations and exercises.  It can also include high tech pieces of equipment like a therapeutic laser, ultrasound, pulsed magnetic therapy, electrical muscle stimulation and the use of a pool or underwater treadmill.   The animals can benefit dramatically just from having the owner keeping the pet at a good weight, using a consistent exercise regime and applying some other hands-on techniques at home.  Do not assume that rehabilitation has to be expensive, the at-home therapy information is invaluable and will help you get involved in the long term health of your pet.  Also, if he or she has had surgery, it will help you protect your surgical investment.