As its acupuncture awareness week, we thought it would be good to highlight how acupuncture helps a lot of pets.
Phillip Elliott MRCVS has been offering acupuncture consultations at Pennard Vets for nearly ten years. Most of his clients are dogs, with the occasional cat and a rabbit. All have been animals suffering from pain, normally from arthritis, where analgesics (pain relief) aren’t working as well as they used to or an underlying medical condition precludes their use.
The response has been remarkable, from an old arthritic dog hobbling into the consulting room on week one to bouncing in by week four. On average about 80% of cases respond to acupuncture, which can vary from mild improvement to spectacular success. Some owners have been so impressed with the results that they’ve actually gone for acupuncture themselves.
There are various scientific studies that prove the benefits and effects of acupuncture, but there is not a lot of information about how it actually works. It stimulates certain nerves in the body which causes endorphin release (the body’s natural painkillers) and blocks pain pathways to the brain.
Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and whilst most people are familiar with it being an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine it has also been used in most other civilizations such as Australian Aborigines, Native American Indians, and even Inuit Eskimos where they use sharpened slivers of seal and whalebone.
Phillip offers acupuncture at our Maidstone branch, normally cases are referred by his colleagues at Pennard Vets, but he will accept referrals from other vets. If you’re interested in whether acupuncture would be of benefit for your pet, then please feel free to give Phillip a call.
