Holistic Veterinary Medicine encompasses everything in an animal’s environment: the food, the lifestyle, the activities, etc. The philosophy of holistic emphasizes the WHOLE body and the natural balance of wellbeing. Integrative Medicine means combining both the eastern and western medicine and treatment styles.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the art of applying small thin needles to a specific point on the body, creating a therapeutic response by moving energy to help certain diseases and conditions.
Acupuncture changes the signaling pathways of the body to promote healing, pain relief and immune system stimulation. Instead of using harmful medication, acupuncture is a way to help the body heal itself.
The methods and goals of Acupuncture are to stimulate acupoint in a variety of ways. These techniques include dry needling, moxibustion, aqu-acupuncture aand electrostimulation. What ever tools are used, the goal is always the same: to restore the flow of Qi and allow homeostasis to return.
Electrostimulation- This is a procedure that involves attaching electrodes to the acupuncture needles and applying a pulsation electric current to them. The stimulation may be achieved at varying intensity's and frequency. This will intensive the acupuncture points and improve local tissue blood flow and muscle and tissue relation.
What should you expect from the first visit?
It depends upon the nature and severity of the disease. Your pets records are a vital tool that we use to look back into the health history. Complete through exams on the first visits may take an hour to an hour and a half, however we might not do acupuncture at that first visit. We will at that time take into account all history and presenting conditions and come up with a personalized plan that best fits you pet.
How long does a acupuncture treatment take?
Initial exam takes about an hour to an hour and a half, however the actual needle session takes 20 - 40 minutes.
How many treatments?
The amount of treatments vary depending on the nature, severity and duration of the disease. A single treatment may be enough for an acute condition. However a series of 3 to 10 treatments can resolve many chronic problems. Some degenerative conditions may need monthly treatments over time.
Joint & Spinal Manipulations
Manipulations of the joint is a technique that involves the musculoskeletal system especially the spine, or manual therapy, manipulation of joints and soft tissue.
The most common therapeutic procedure done by our doctors is known as a spinal manipulation. The purpose of the manipulation is to restore the joints mobility by manually applying a controlled force into the joint that has become hypo-mobile or has restricted the patients movement and a result of an injury.
Like Acupuncture, our spinal exams require a through exam which sometimes require Radiographs. Patient history is also of vital importance to our evaluation.
How long does a chiropractic evaluation take?
The amount of time depends on the severity of the condition and whether or not physical rehabilitation is recommended. However most Initial exams take about an hour.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete system of medicine developed in China. Its roots are in writings and practices which were developed over millennia. TCM uses acupuncture, herbs and other natural substances, acupressure, food therapy, meditation and exercise to maintain health and treat disease.
The TCM practitioner views health as a state of harmony or balance existing between the internal environment of the body and the external environment it lives in. Unfavorable conditions, emotional upset, physical trauma, infectious organisms, poor nutrition, inappropriate lifestyle, heredity, and other pathogenic factors are capable of disrupting this state of harmony.
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) has used the same concepts and methods of diagnosis and treatment to treat animals for a similar period of time. In China, practitioners of veterinary medicine undergo an exhaustive training program in TCVM, which parallels the training programs for practitioners of TCM.
Pets benefit from TCVM because of its emphasis on both the prevention and treatment of disease. As a comprehensive form of treatment, TCM considers the interrelationship of all the patient's symptoms, and treatment is aimed at restoring health rather than merely alleviating symptoms.