Can acupuncture help your pet?

Maybe you’ve had acupuncture yourself that really worked, and are now wondering if perhaps your pet might benefit from acupuncture too.

The answer depends on what exactly you’re trying to treat.
Acupuncture can help with quite a lot of conditions thanks to its many actions. It can relax muscles, enhance blood circulation (which improves healing), reduce inflammation, relieve pain and more. All of this is accomplished by placing very fine needles in specific places, known as acupuncture points, to stimulate the nerves and blood vessels found there.

As helpful as acupuncture can be, it usually works best as part of a comprehensive treatment plan rather than as a sole therapy, so it’s not a good option if you’re looking to completely replace your pet’s current treatments.

The most common reason pets get acupuncture is for chronic joint conditions, like arthritis, hip dysplasia and back pain. It can also help with nerve damage or even serious spinal cord conditions. The pain relief acupuncture provides is especially beneficial for pets whose medications aren’t sufficiently controlling their pain or whose owners would like to reduce the dose of their current pain medications.

Acupuncture can also help with less serious problems, like certain skin conditions. For example, lick granulomas, which happen when dogs obsessively lick one spot until it’s raw, are classically difficult to treat because affected dogs refuse to stop licking. Acupuncture can soothe the exposed nerve endings so that they aren’t quite so itchy.

Although traditional medicine is the first line of treatment for infections, cancer and major organ disease, acupuncture is also helpful as an adjunct treatment for improving appetite and reducing nausea. For example, a pet with cancer may get acupuncture to combat the nausea caused by their chemotherapy.

If any of these scenarios sounds like what your pet needs, talk to your veterinarian about your interest in acupuncture. They can tell you more about it and help you decide if it’s right path for your pet.

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