The Daily Tail
What Is Acupuncture Good For?
May 30, 2024
When I tell people I perform acupuncture on my patients, the first reaction is usually, “Wait, you can do that?” Followed by “Does it work?” And “What is it good for?” I tend to focus on chronic pain management- seeing a geriatric dog trotting around like a puppy again just makes my day! And for people who are seeking out acupuncture for their dogs, chronic pain management seems to be primary goal. But that’s not the only use for acupuncture! Acupuncture, especially when combined with other Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine modalities, can be incorporated for internal medicine, dermatology, even oncology! It can help recover appetite, lower itchiness, and speed healing. I favor an integrative approach - the more tools in my toolbox the better! One amazing tool for an integrative approach is aquapuncture - injecting into an acupoint. In practice, this can look like injecting, say, Cytopoint (a fabulous treatment for atopy) into a point that will help with itching to get a stronger effect. Or, very commonly, injecting vitamin B12 into points that support the stomach, as another example. Should you use acupuncture needles to stabilize a broken bone? No, of course not. Am I going to start a dog with epilepsy on conventional anti-seizure meds? You bet! Can we also incorporate acupuncture, diet therapy, and herbal medicine to help get to a lower effective dose of those medications? Absolutely! Bottom line: Especially in an integrative practice, my answer to “what is acupuncture good for?” is “What isn’t it good for?”
Why Acupuncture?
July 01, 2024
Why Acupuncture? I’ve talked about some of the great things acupuncture can do, and who might benefit (lots of patients!) Today I want to share a bit about what drew me in to learning acupuncture in the first place. Like many, I got my start in veterinary medicine in general practice. I like general practice! It’s always interesting because you get to see so many different patients with different things going on. One of the coolest things in general practice is really getting to bond with a patient (and their humans) throughout their life. As one might expect, I especially bonded with patients who were coming in more frequently- the older patients coming in for chronic conditions, whether that be kidney failure or arthritic pain. Which brings me to the hardest part of general practice, and veterinary medicine in general: eventually, we have tried everything, and it’s time to say good bye. As much as I believe we owe it to our pets to let them pass with peace and dignity, and as honored as I am to be someone who can provide that care… my least favorite thing to tell an owner is, “I’m sorry; there’s nothing else I can do.” Learning acupuncture, and starting to learn about Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine as a whole, means I have so much more to offer before we have to have that talk. Of course, there are lots of other reasons to use acupuncture, not just palliative care! As I mentioned in my last post, I think an integrative approach is appropriate for many patients across a wide spectrum of ages and health statuses. But for me, my path to learning acupuncture came because I knew there had to be more to offer before having to say “there’s nothing more I can do.”
An exciting announcement!
September 26, 2024
Starting this Saturday, Sunflower Mobile will be operating a booth at the Midtown Farmer's Market. I am so excited for this opportunity! Firstly, this is a chance to see dogs who are, while excited to be out and about, not starting off from a point of anxiety about being at the clinic. It's a great starting point! Secondly, this is a chance to connect with patients who could benefit from acupuncture, whose owners may not know that it's available to them. While acupuncture can be helpful for so many conditions, people often aren't aware that their pet may benefit, so this is a great way to educate people. Thirdly, of course, the Midtown Farmer's Market is just a really cool place, so I'm excited to be part of it! Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
