Remember, your cat's yearly examination is the most important part of its health care
Cats Only Welcomes Acupuncture as New Modality
Cats Only is proud to announce the addition of acupuncture to complement our standard veterinary treatment options. Veterinary acupuncture is a healing science which deals with the individual animal as a living energetic being, rather than simply as a catalogue of signs and symptoms. Effective veterinary acupuncture practice is based upon both the natural and scientific aspects of healing. The training of a veterinary acupuncturist includes both eastern and western medical methods.
Veterinary acupuncture is a technique for relieving pain and improving the function of various systems of an animal's body via stimulation of the proper reflex points. These points are mainly located in the superficial muscles and skin.
In traditional Chinese thought each human or animal is born with a fixed amount of Vital Essence (Jing) at birth. Jing is spent in the work of living. The Jing is supported and expressed by the movement of Qi (Vital Energy) throughout the body via a system of channels or meridians. Qi is replenished by food and air. These meridians flow on the surface of the body and also deep within the body connecting all organs and tissues in a vast network. Disease can arise when there is an imbalance or disruption in the flow of Qi through these meridians. Certain areas along the meridians that travel the surface of the body provide access to the energy carried in the meridians and allow a trained acupuncturist to affect the flow and quality of Qi in the body.
These areas are the acupuncture points. By stimulating these points, sometimes located far from the site of symptoms, the veterinary acupuncturist can assist the body to heal itself by balancing its own vital energies. This balancing is now known to be mediated primarily via the nervous system, but other physiological mechanisms including hormonal and humoral factors are also involved. This balance in turn may be used to adjust blood flow, nervous and muscle tone, hormone levels or the function of the organs.
Acupuncture is based on the discovery that certain areas ("points") on the surface of the body are related to specific internal body organs and functions. This discovery has since been confirmed by many western studies. By meticulously studying different disease states, the Chinese were able to develop a whole model of the relationships between the superficial "points" and the internal organs as they related to normal body function.
The primary aim in veterinary acupuncture (as in other veterinary medical modalities) is to stimulate and strengthen the body's adaptive/homeostatic mechanisms. So acupuncture is only one modality among many which can be used in an attempt to aid, stimulate or complement the defense mechanisms of the body.
How does veterinary acupuncture differ from western veterinary medicine? Read more......
