About Equine Acupuncture
Introduction:
Acupuncture is a method of health care that has been used and developed for over 3000 years, with roots in ancient China. Acupuncture is now used throughout the world and is recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA ) as a safe and effective treatment for horses. Olympic competitors, horses in racing, endurance, dressage, reining, Western or English pleasure, barrel racers, hunter jumpers, and backyard and trail horses all benefit from acupuncture treatment.
How Acupuncture Works:
Scientific research has contributed to our understanding of how acupuncture works. The very small needles placed at specific acupuncture points create physiological effects in the horse that are measurable. The acupuncture points are areas of increased vascularity and nerve endings in the body and are located along channels, called meridians. Stimulation of these points cause a production of hormones called endorphins, the body's natural pain killers. In addition, acupuncture causes the release of other hormones, including cortisol from the pituitary and other glands, and inhibits pain transmission along a specific type of pain transmitting nerve fiber, called C-fibers. In short, acupuncture works by stimulating the body's own natural ability to decrease pain and inflammation and promote healing.
About Chinese Medicine:
Traditional
Chinese Medicine states that acupuncture works by adjusting the flow of
vital energy in the body. This energy, called "Qi", (pronounced
"chee"), flows throughout 14 pathways, called meridians in the body and
can be accessed by more than 365 acupuncture points. Disease results
when the flow of Qi is disrupted. By stimulating specific acupuncture
points, we can restore the balance and help to resolve or prevent disease.
What Can Acupuncture Treat?
Acupuncture
can be used to treat a variety of equine health problems. It is also
used to prevent disease and lamenesses in the performance or backyard
horse.
Here is a partial list:
*Arthritis
*Lameness
*Acute Inflammation
*Laminitis/Founder
*Bursitis
*Back Pain
*Gastric Ulcers/EGUS
*Heaves/COPD/RAO
*Chronic Fatigue/Performance Problems
*Reproductive Problems
How is a Treatment Done?
An
evaluation is done before treatment can begin. Through a systematic
process of history, observation, and palpation, a diagnosis and
treatment plan is initiated. A specific group of acupuncture points is
chosen to correct imbalances. Through a series of acupuncture
treatments, the patient, in effect, heals itself, not through
palliation or suppression of symptoms, but by correcting what is
fundamentally wrong.
Treatment
is done with very small sterile acupuncture needles. The needles are
used only once, then disposed of. Several needles are placed at
prescribed acupuncture points for 10-30 minutes.
Most
horses go through a typical sequence of reactions during a treatment.
At first, some are apprehensive, followed by a deep relaxation. Many
horses act sedated and sleepy after a few minutes of treatment. Some
horses are fatigued for a day or two after treatment, so riding is not
recommended during this time.
The
frequency and duration of treatments depends on the horse. A treatment
plan will be developed for the individual, since each animal heals at a
different rate. Typically two to eight treatments is recommended. They
may be anywhere from two to fourteen days apart. Follow up treatments as preventative maintenance may be recommended.
Types of Acupuncture:
There
are several ways to stimulate acupuncture points. Some of the methods
used by Dr. Quentin are sterile dry needles, acupressure,
photonic/light, injection of solutions (aquapuncture), and
electroacupuncture (applying a mild electrical current).
"The aim of science is, on the one hand, as complete a comprehension as possible of the connection between perceptible experiences in their totality, and, on the other hand, the achievement of this aim by employing a minimum of primary concepts and relations."
Albert Einstein
