Acupuncture for your pet!
Just as a growing number of humans turn to acupuncture to relieve chronic pain and other conditions, more and more pet owners seek out the treatment for ailing animals.
Acupuncture is a part of traditional Chinese medicine that’s been in use for at least 2,000 years. The most familiar form applies needles to specific points within a body to better align its “Qi” or life force.
The American Veterinary Medical Association has had a policy on “complementary and alternative veterinary medicine,” which includes acupuncture, since 2001.
Dr. Katie Bockstedt, associate veterinarian at PetWell Veterinary Healthcare in West Midtown, practices traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM). She has a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from The University of Georgia and is certified in veterinary acupuncture and other integrative medicine practices. She has used acupuncture on dogs and cats with kidney disease, liver disease, arthritis, orthopedic issues and behavior problems such as urinary incontinence and separation anxiety.
“Most of the clients find me when their dog or cat has a problem not solved by Western medicine,” she says. The patients have “more complicated issues,” and their owners seek out other options that lead them to her.
She would like to treat more patients when they are younger to “get them on the right path from the beginning,” says Bockstedt, who found integrative medicine solved her own medical problems that had been resistant to Western medicine.
That led her to reconsider her veterinary practice where she often prescribed antibiotics and steroids.
“I thought, ‘I don’t like doing this for myself, so why would it be my first choice for my patients?’”
Acupuncture works by stimulating points in the body that relate to different internal organs or processes, she says. Microscopic studies show acupuncture points are different than adjacent structures; they usually have more blood vessels and nerve endings.
An initial integrative medicine appointment, which is $190 and takes two hours, includes a thorough patient history and ends with a treatment plan, which may involve diet changes, herbal medicine and acupuncture. In an acupuncture session, needles are inserted and left in for about 20 minutes. The owner distracts the patient from any discomfort with treats. The dog or cat usually relaxes once the first needles are in, and get calmer with subsequent sessions, Bockstedt says.
For chronic disease, she recommends four to six treatments, one to two weeks apart. After the initial series, the goal is for the patient to taper off to longer intervals between sessions, and eventually once a season.
Observation, lab work and physical exams indicate whether the treatments are effective. Improved quality of life is often the priority for clients, Bockstedt says. Western medical tests may or may not show changes from acupuncture treatment.
One patient, a dog with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis that causes scarring in the lungs, had difficulty breathing, she recalled. After a few weeks of acupuncture, herbs and diet changes, the dog’s symptoms improved. “The owner reported that the dog’s energy levels were much increased, and she could no longer detect respiratory symptoms. The X-rays of this dog’s lungs never changed, but the owner did not mind as the symptoms resolved,” Bockstedt says.
Acupuncture is not always appropriate. In cases of emergencies, infections and surgeries, Western medicine is initially the best choice, with TCVM used to help speed healing, rebalance the body and prevent recurrence.
PETWELL VETERINARY HEALTHCARE
404.856.7500
Petwellatl.com
@petwellvethealth
STORY: Jessica Saunders
PHOTO: Erik Meadows
