Health (alternative): Acupuncture

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Acupuncture is a therapeutic process during which a practitioner inserts fine needles into your dog's body to help control pain and cure chronic ailments. It's a very old practice in humans and in animals; something very much like acupuncture was practiced in India more than 7,000 years ago, and there is evidence that Stone Age humans in China used it 5,000 years in the past.

Acupuncture for animals is nearly as old a remedy as for humans (in fact, some say it was first discovered when horses hit in certain places by arrows exhibited "miraculous" healing). The "father of animal acupuncture," Shun Yang, lived 500 years before the birth of Christ, and European medical journals mention its use as long ago as the 1600s. Modern techniques use more than simply fine, solid needles; practitioners also employ electric heat, massage, and even low-power cold lasers to stimulate acupuncture points.

How it works

The central concept behind acupuncture--for you or your dog--is the idea of balance.Ancient Chinese medical philosophy teaches that illness is the result of an imbalance of vital energies in the body, and acupuncture restores that balance and allows the body to heal. It does this by guiding chi (or qi), "vital energy,"along certain pathways (commonly called meridians) in the body.

Philosophy aside, medical researches can observe changes in electrical activity and increased blood circulation during acupuncture, as well as a decrease in muscle spasms and the release of endorphins and other chemicals in the brain.

The practice has become widely accepted in the U.S. and around the world. It even has its own professional organization, the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, or IVAS, which offers an extensive certification program for veterinarians. Today more than 150,000 vets and 700,000 paraveterinary assistants use acupuncture in their practices.

What it can treat

Acupuncture has been found effective  [Continued]