Pet Acupuncture | Sandy Bay, TAS | Sandy Bay Holistic Vet

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been widely used around the world for many centuries. It is based on traditional Chinese medicine and involves insertion of thin needles into specific points on the body to produce a healing response. Each acupuncture point has specific actions when stimulated. Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the philosophy that illness is caused by an imbalance of vital energies in the body. Acupuncture is one aspect of traditional Chinese veterinary medicine that focuses on restoring the energy balance in the body to promote healing.

It is believed to activate somatic afferent nerve fibres in the nearby tissue. By adapting a gentle technique, the acupuncturist selectively stimulates mechanoreceptors rather than nociceptors, aimed at augmenting endogenous analgesic mechanisms. Signals travelling along these neural pathways initiate a series of reflexive and homeostatic responses within the local, regional, autonomic, and central nervous systems.

Acupuncture can assist the body to heal itself by affecting certain physiological changes. For example, acupuncture can stimulate nerves, increase blood circulation, relieve muscle spasm, and cause the release of hormones, such as endorphins (one of the body’s pain control chemicals) and cortisol (a natural steroid).

Benefits of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a drug-free treatment which is useful for:

Reducing Pain
Releasing Muscle Spasms

Speeding Up Healing After Surgery

For animals struggling with stiff and painful joints, acupuncture can reduce pain in the affected areas. It also helps with soft tissue and muscle strains.

What Happens During Treatment?

What happens during Treatment?

Acupuncture with needles is usually painless because the needles are very fine.

Our veterinarian inserts needles into particular areas on the patient’s body, depending on the condition being treated. Electrical stimulation of the needles can enhance the treatment.

An acupuncture session takes about 30 minutes. You can sit with your pet during the treatment to keep them calm and happy.

Often treatment is repeated at 1-2 week intervals.

Acupuncture, can also be used with electrical stimulation in paralysis cases.

Prolotherapy is similar to acupuncture, injecting a combination of saline, B vitamins, procaine and glucose into acupuncture sites can improve effects for 2 weeks giving quicker results.

Is acupuncture painful?

Acupuncture in small animals, with the insertion of acupuncture needles is virtually painless. The larger needles necessary for large animals may cause some pain as the needle passes through the skin. In all animals, once the needles are in place, there should be no pain at all. Most animals become very relaxed and may even become sleepy.

Is Acupuncture safe?

Acupuncture should never be administered without a proper veterinary medical diagnosis and ongoing assessment of the patient’s condition by a licensed veterinarian. This is critical to ensure that it is applied correctly as acupuncture is capable of masking pain or other clinical signs and my delay proper veterinary medical diagnosis once treatment has been begun.

In Tasmania, only qualified veterinarians can perform acupuncture. Sandy Bay Holistic is one of a select few qualified to practise in Tasmania for small animals.

What is acupuncture used for?

Acupuncture is suggested for functional problems such as those that involve paralysis, non-infectious inflammation, as in allergies, and pain.

For small animals that we see in the clinic, some common conditions treated with acupuncture are:

Musculoskeletal problems, arthritis, intervertebral disk disease, or traumatic nerve injury.

Respiratory problems, such as feline asthma

Skin problems such as lick granulomas and allergic dermatitis

Gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhoea

Selective reproductive problems