Happy Tails is always looking to improve and expand its list of services available to clients. We are pleased to introduce acupuncture medicine. Dr Alison Shen has just completed her IVAS course and is now available for acupuncture consultation and treatments. Acupuncture has become increasingly popular for the treatment of pain, arthritis, orthopaedic conditions, anaemia, inappetance and many other symptoms.

What is Acupuncture?

Veterinary acupuncture has a long history which has been closely associated with human acupuncture. Believe it or not, according to legend, it was discovered when lame horses became better after being hit by arrows in battle!

Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles into specific points of the body to achieve both therapy and balance. It is based on a historic 'TCM' concept of diagnosis, treatment and acknowledgement of the body's ability to repairtself. Stimulation of these points may also be achieved by laser or 'moxa'.

Does it Hurt?

The laser and 'moxa' techniques do not hurt and cause no pain. These techniques are useful in animals who are needle-phobic. Acupuncture needles are rounded at the end and are not 'cutting, hence they tend to seperate the skin and muscles, rather than cut through tissue like normal neeedles do. The skin tends to be the mose sensitive part and once through the skin, they cause no pain.

East meets West

While both 'TCM' and conventional vets aim to restore health in a diseased patient, the differences lie in their approach to diagnosis and treatment. A TCM consult can often be quite long and includes pulse diagnosis, looking at the tongue shape, size, coating and colour, smells and intensive questioning on history, habits, behaviour and preferences.

Whilst conventional medicine looks for specific causes and treatment often involves surgery or medicine, TCM looks for patterns in disharmony or imbalances and treatment aims to restore the flow of energy (Qi) and re-balance the body. TCM also aims to discover the cause of imbalances and helps to eliminate this from the environment.