Hip dysplasia and acupuncture

QUESTION:

My dog suffers from hip dysplasia. Will acupuncture help her?

answered by Becca Seitz, LAc

ANSWER:

In acupuncture, the body is like a freeway system, with Qi flowing through energy pathways called Meridians. In this analogy, the cars are the Qi and the freeways themselves are the Meridians. Pain is kind of like a car accident on the freeway. When there is an accident on the freeway, the rest of the cars trying to travel through aren't able to, which makes drivers cranky. In your body, when there is a blockage to the natural flow of Qi, energy can't travel through the Meridians properly, and the result is a cranky body - pain.

While acupuncture can't fix the fact that a dog with hip dysplasia has a malformed hip socket, it can reduce the amount of pain associated with this disorder by removing the blockages to the flow of Qi. Acupuncture relaxes muscle tension that has accumulated through chronic compensation for this loose joint, easing a lot of the aches and pains that a dog will experience.

I often find that after seeing a dog for 3-10 visits (depending on the severity of their condition and how their bodies respond to acupuncture) that they are pain-free and only require "tune-ups" every couple of months to maintain their pain-free status!