Veterinary acupuncture

Veterinary acupuncture is the practice of performing acupuncture on animals.

Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM) has been practiced on animals for thousands of years. For nearly 3,000 years, from the Zhou dynasty and the reign of Emperor Mu around 930 B.C., up until the Yuan dynasty of the 14th century, Chinese medicine was used sparingly on large animals. Much of the focus was on the treatment of horses since they were so essential to the military. In more modern times it has been used increasingly on pet animals. Acupuncture is one of the five branches of TCVM.

In historical Asian culture, people known as "horse priests" commonly used acupuncture. The flow of information from the East to the West regarding animal treatment, including acupuncture, is thought to have started from Mesopotamia around 300 BC. Acupuncture remained a major interest in veterinary medicine for centuries. Its use for dogs was first described in the Tang Dynasty.

In the 20th century, animal acupuncture was first introduced in the United States in 1971 by two acupuncturists of the National Acupuncture Association, Gene Bruno and John Ottaviano. In the process of treating thousands of small animals and several hundred horses, Bruno and Ottaviano trained veterinarians who later founded the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS). The demand for veterinary acupuncture has steadily increased since the 1990s.

Acupuncture is used mainly for functional problems such as those involving noninfectious inflammation, paralysis, or pain. For small animals, acupuncture has been used for treating arthritis, hip dysplasia, lick granuloma, feline asthma, diarrhea, and certain reproductive problems. For larger animals, acupuncture has been used for treating downer cow syndrome, facial nerve paralysis, allergic dermatitis, respiratory problems, nonsurgical colic, and certain reproductive disorders. Acupuncture has also been used on competitive animals, such as those involved in racing and showing. Veterinary acupuncture has also recently been used on more exotic animals, such as chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and an alligator with scoliosis, though this is still quite rare.

Research on the mechanism of acupuncture began as early as 1976 with the introduction of the endorphin hypothesis and the gate control theory of pain, which accounts for the inhibition of nociceptive information via interneurons. Stimulation of nerve fibres contributes to the release of cytokines and inflammatory mediators around the needle as part of a neuromodulatory process resulting from the needling effect on connective tissue and fibroblasts. In response to needle stimulation, neuropeptides are released into the local blood flow. These neuropeptides include calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), nerve growth factor, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal peptide.

...
Wikipedia