Pet Acupuncture | The Process

1. Acupuncture for dogs, cats and all other animals is derived from human acupuncture. The principles behind this art and science of healing starts with the aim of correcting imbalances in the body through the use of fine needles inserted into specific points (acupuncture points) to achieve this purpose. Your veterinary acupuncturist (who is also a licensed veterinarian with additional training/certification in veterinary acupuncture) will usually ask questions regarding your pets general health, diet, temperature preferences, current symptoms and overall energy or activity level.
2. The veterinary acupuncturist will then generally do a standard physical examination - looking at your pet from head to tail. He/she will check the tongue - this is an important component of Chinese diagnosis. The tongue reflects the status of various organs in the body according to Chinese medical theory. This will give the acupuncture practitioner a window into the recent changes going on in the animal's internal organs. Basically the tongue can be seen as a map into your pets organ systems. The veterinarian will use the information to form a diagnosis; a so-called pattern of disharmony.
3. Next, the veterinarian will usually examine your pet's pulse - left hind leg and right hind leg pulses. Surprisingly, pulses can be classified into 28 different types in Chinese medicine and a trained veterinary acupuncturist will be able to take the information from these pulse examinations to formulate a diagnosis.
4. At this point the veterinarian may start feeling your pet carefully for sore spots, swollen areas, sunken or depressed areas, to design his final treatment plan. The needles used in pet acupuncture are the same used in humans. Each needle will have a handle and a body. Acupuncture needles are individually packaged, sterile, and usually made of stainless steel. In older times, needles could be copper, silver or gold.
5. The acupuncture needles are then inserrted by veterinarian into specific points of your pets body which he/she has decided to use based on his/her findings in the previous steps. These points are usually a part of an acupuncture point formula or a collection of individual points chosen to address the imbalances detected during the examination. Insertion of the needles are not usually painful,and are tolerated extremely well but a very sensitive or painful pet may show a mild reaction.
6. Depending on the diagnosis, the veterinarian will either leave the inserted needles without touching them or twirl the needles intermittently. Duration of needle insertion is also variable and will be base on you pet's condition. Additional steps in the treatment could be application of a low voltage electric current (electro-acupuncture) provided by a small device via wires attached to the needles; the needles could also be warmed by the application of heat from a burning Moxa stick (these are herbs rolled into a cigar shape and ignited)or a heat lamp (called a Chi lamp) could be used over the needled areas.
7. After a duration of time, usually 15 to 30 minutes, the needles are removed. What happened during the acupuncture session? Most pets would find this experience very relaxing and may have dozed off during the procedure. A small number will be panting and restless. Studies have shown that pet acupuncture has a general effect because it stimulates a release of hormones, pain-killing chemicals, anti-inflammatory substances from the body. All these have a beneficial effect, promoting tissue repair, improved blood circulation, pain relief and a sense of well-being. Local effects of acupuncture consist of relaxation of muscle spasm or "trigger points" during acupuncture.