Veterinary Acupuncture:
A Brief History
more widely available whilst still achieving
extremely high success rates.
Veterinary acupuncture is based on the
ancient Chinese art of acupuncture for
humans which was developed up to 4,000
years ago in China. It is part of Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) which treats the
body as a whole rather than just treating the
affected parts or symptoms.
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Disease is considered to be the result of
abnormal, or disordered, energy flow in the
body. The Chinese charted the normal flow
of energy in the body several thousand years
ago as the Meridians or Channels. There are
12 major Meridians which correlate to the
Chinese classification of Organs, and 8 extra
Meridians, which channel the energy through
the body.
According to the Ancient Chinese, health
depends on the regular rhythmic flow of
energy and on the balance between Yin and
Yang, the ‘eternal opposites’. Disease is
therefore a state of imbalance or blockage in
the normal energy flows of the body.
The mechanism involved in acupuncture is
obscure to Western minds. Every living
animal is thought to be born with life energy
(Qi or chi). This energy is used up by the
body with everyday tasks and is replenished
by eating and breathing. Imbalance in the
flow of Qi through the Meridians can be
caused by internal or external factors and
results in disease or illness. Acupuncture has
recently been adapted for a more western
approach: many more practitioners are using
this western approach, making acupuncture
TCM explanation: acupuncture attempts to
rebalance the flow of energy through the
body. This is achieved by inserting needles
into certain points on the body’s surface.
Sometimes these points may be far from the
actual area of the illness. By inserting the
needles into certain predetermined points on
the Meridians, the energy channels, which
have shut down due to disease, are
encouraged to reopen.
In this way,
acupuncture stimulates the body’s own
healing powers and enables it to maintain the
equilibrium of its internal environment.
Western explanation: needles are placed into
muscles, stimulating certain nerve fibres (A
delta and C nerve fibres), which send a
message up to a part of the brain called the
periaqueductal grey (PAG). This is where
the neurotransmitters responsible for the
transmission of pain signals are released
from, and it is thought that acupuncture
works by interrupting the transmission of
these neurotransmitters, thereby stopping the
transmission of pain.
The insertion of
needles also facilitates the release of
naturally
occurring
neurotransmitters,
including endogenous opioids and relaxin,
which help to counteract the pain on a
psychological level.
What Can Acupuncture
Be Used For?
Modern research has shown that acupuncture
can affect most of the body systems. The
success depends on the body’s stimulated
ability to heal, and therefore whether or not
mechanisms exist within the body which, if
properly stimulated, can resolve the problem.
There are many spectacular successes, some
disappointments and some cases where only
temporary relief is achieved.
Acupuncture is especially useful in the
following conditions:

Arthritis

Back pain

Chronic catarrh

Chronic diarrhoea

Spinal disc problems

Hip dysplasia

Incontinence

Injuries involving ligaments, tendons
and muscles

Paralysis

Sinusitis

Spondylosis

Some skin conditions

Trapped nerves
It can also help any chronic pain which is not
being controlled adequately by conventional
treatments or when side effects are a
problem.
Will My Animal Need To Be
Sedated For Treatment?
The Treatment
Acupuncture treatment involves the insertion
of a varying number of needles which are left
in place for varying periods of between 5 and
45 minutes.
The average number of treatments is about
four and if improvement is likely to follow, it
will normally be apparent by then. Some
problems may need more treatments before
showing signs of improvement, but generally
if there is no improvement at all after four
treatments, it is unlikely that acupuncture
will have an effect. Approximately 5% of
cases will not respond to acupuncture.
Treatments are usually once a week to begin
with, then at longer intervals, according to
progress. Acute conditions may need more
frequent treatments and chronic conditions
may require booster treatments at varying
intervals.
No. Most patients will accept needles fairly
well. Most animals relax and some even fall
asleep during the treatment. You will be
asked to stay with your pet for the duration of
each treatment.
Is There Any Risk?
There is very little risk from acupuncture
treatment when performed by a competent
acupuncturist.
In some strong reactors
temporary aggravation is quickly followed by
substantial relief.
1 session: £47.50 (approx 30 – 60 mins)
Acupuncture is a useful form of therapy,
especially for conditions that do not respond
well to orthodox means. It is not a cure-all,
but can be used successfully to treat
conditions either on its own, or in
conjunction with conventional therapy. It
can fill a gap but will never replace
conventional therapy; it can at times be
beneficial when other treatments have failed.
Acupuncture has the advantage that
undesirable side effects of some drug
therapies can be avoided.
Information Leaflet
The Cost Of Acupuncture
st
Why Acupuncture?
Veterinary
Acupuncture
Subsequent sessions: £35.50
(approx 10 – 45 mins)
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
PLEASE ASK FOR CHRISTABEL
MOSELEY BVSc MRCVS OR LAURA
SELLEY BVetMed MRCVS.
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE
LENGTH OF TIME INVOLVED IN AN
ACUPUNCTURE CONSULTATION,
PROMPT ARRIVAL IS APPRECIATED,
AND ANY FAILED APPOINTMENTS
WILL INCUR A FEE OF £30.
Twickenham Veterinary
Surgery
If you have any questions please ask
for Christabel or Laura at:
Twickenham Veterinary Surgery
58 Hampton Road
Twickenham
Middlesex
TW2 5QB
Tel: 020 8898 0528
www.twickenhamvets.com
Email:admin@twickenhamvets.com