Friedrichs 1 Kristina Friedrichs Ms. Dasher AP English Literature and Composition 9 October 2017 The Holistic Approach of Alternative Veterinary Medicine A new style of veterinary medicine on the rise is alternative or Eastern medicine. Alternative medicine utilizes the body and natural treatments to help an animal recover rather than surgeries or traditionally thought of medications. The main divisions of the Eastern holistic medicine approach are acupuncture, herbal medicine, and chiropractic techniques. Alternative medicine has helped to expand the available treatments for many animals because the medicine can be used alone or the medicine can be used in conjunction with western treatments. The alternative treatments are increasing in popularity because they provide a different approach and treatment by utilizing the body and the natural world. Alternative medicine has created a comprehensive holistic approach to veterinary medicine by using acupuncture, herbal treatments, and chiropractic techniques to help provide a wider range of treatments for animals. Holistic in terms of medicine means to use every aspect of the body to determine the cause of an animal s complication and then a possible treatment for the complication. According to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, This mixture of healing arts and skills is as natural as life itself. Therein lies the very essence of the word (w)holistic. It means taking in the whole picture of the patient the environment, the disease pattern, the relationship of pet with owner and developing a treatment protocol using a wide range of therapies for healing the patient. The holistic practitioner is interested not only in a medical
Friedrichs 2 history, but also genetics, nutrition, environment, family relationships, stress levels, and other factors. The holistic approach is the basis for alternative medicine because this approach considers the whole life of the animal. Instead of only focusing on obvious immediate issues, alternative medicine probes deeper to fix the obscure issues. Dr. Konrad Kruesi describes holistic medicine as a way of looking at patients in comprehensive, long term ways. It s helping the body maintain itself, rather than always relying on synthetics to treat conditions, (Schenker 38). Western medicine is often used to help fix an immediate issue that needs to be resolved, whereas alternative medicine provides relief to chronic issues. Many veterinarians are expanding possible treatment options because they begin their career with the base of western medicine and then expand into the alternative options. By increasing their knowledge of treatment options to include acupuncture, herbal treatments, and chiropractic adjustments, veterinarians can provide a more fitting treatment for each patient. Acupuncture is used to target specific points on an animal s body to help stimulate the central nervous system which in turn helps to heal the body. The International Veterinary Acupuncture society states that acupuncture "Used functional MRI (fmri), to examine 15 different points, which are the basic tenets of acupuncture. Acupuncture is based upon the point selected, the method of stimulation, and the duration of stimulation. Stimulation of these points result in specific changes in the central nervous system. It was shown that acupuncture points that have pain relieving properties associated with them tend to activate specific pain-association brainstem regions. The National Institute of Health developed a consensus statement about acupuncture and its efficacy. NIH said
Friedrichs 3 that there was compelling evidence that acupuncture was useful in the management of osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal pain,"(international Veterinary Acupuncture Society). Depending on the type of illness impacting the animal, certain stimulation points will be targeted more than others. Acupuncture will also reveal accurate results of how impacted different area of the body are because of how they react. The veterinarian will insert small needles into the animal s body, and the impacted muscles grab onto the needle. The more unaligned areas have contracted muscles; therefore the muscle will hold tightly onto the needle for a longer period of time. Acupuncture is a quick response treatment because over the course of a few minutes the patient s body will reveal the area that an issue is stemming from because when muscles relax, many of the needles just fall out and it s a process that does not cause pain (Wyoming Tribune). This treatment helps muscles relax and loosen up, but the treatment can also increase blood circulation, relieve muscle spasm, and cause the release of hormones, such as endorphins (International Veterinary Acupuncture Society). Many more veterinarians are utilizing acupuncture because this form of treatment can provide relief to a multitude of complications and because acupuncture has many quick tell-tale signs of impacted areas. Similarly, herbal medicine is used to help treat many different disease patterns and is typically used in conjunction with other holistic treatments. This treatment varies from Western diagnoses because it takes into account not only disease signs but how these signs relate to the individual patient, (Chi Institute of Herbal medicine). Herbal medicines are specifically created formulas that utilize ingredients listed within the Chinese Herbal Materia Medica to treat particular disease patterns, (Chi Institute of Herbal Medicine). These medicines differ from typically thought of medication because they are not made of more synthetic and unnatural
Friedrichs 4 materials. Herbals is a complicated system because there are many combinations of formulas that can be used in conjunction or separately to help treat animals. Herbal medicine is also a system that is built around the Chinese calendar. Herbal treatment is built this way in order to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and other recommendations, (Walker-Baird). Building the treatment around the calendar encompasses the holistic approach because holistic medicine takes into account not only the animals condition but also the environmental factors that may be contributing to the animal's condition. Dr. Linda Gray, a holistic veterinarian, Used acupuncture and herbal treatment to provide relief for hip dysplasia in two large, older dogs and a loose kneecap in a tiny poodle (Walker-Baird). The interaction between the acupuncture treatment and herbal medicine provides an immediate relief from the needles followed by continual support from the herbal medicine. Herbal treatments can give joint support treatments to help joint fluids move more easily or can be used to balance an animal s digestive system (Walker- Baird). Another common misconception of herbal medicine is that an animal is given full herbs for treatment. But the mixtures of herbs are broken down and placed in a tea pill or capsule for administration. Herbal medicine is beneficial because the herbs help to continually treat an animal's condition after an immediate treatment like acupuncture, chiropractic adjustment, or laser therapy; herbal medicine can also aid many typical surgeries and procedures. Chiropractic techniques more specifically target spinal issues to provide relief. By adjusting the spine and the skeletal system, relief is provided to not only the bones but also surrounding muscle groups. Chiropractic care "is a manual therapy, which can be used for many health and performance problems" (International Veterinary Chiropractic Association). The veterinary uses this hands-on approach to feel for specific trigger points located on the animal's body. Once the points are found the veterinarian can twist and turn the joints and bones in a
Friedrichs 5 clinical way to help relieve the tension. This treatment provides immediate relief because once the affected area of the body is adjusted, a release of heat from the body can often be felt. Avery hot release of heat means that specific area was greatly effected. The chiropractic technique "focuses on the biomechanical dysfunction of the spine and its effect on the entire nervous system throughout the body," (International Veterinary Chiropractic Association). Treating patients with the adjustments not only helps immediate problems but can also help other semirelated issues because of the impacts the simple adjustment can have. Medical adjustments are becoming more useful too because "it can provide additional means of diagnosis and treatment options for spinal problems as well as biomechanical related musculoskeletal disorders"(international Veterinary Chiropractic Association). The adjustment helps to restore mobility to the animal while restoring the main function of the impacted area. Chiropractic medicine is holistic because the adjustment treats immediate issues and can help reveal other less obvious issues. While skeptics remain, the Eastern approach to medicine, health, and well-being utilizing acupuncture, Chinese herbs, homeopathic treatment, and chiropractic medicine has shown success in both human and veterinary medicine. These treatments have been utilized for thousands of years in many Eastern parts of the world. There, they have shown a distinct improvement in numerous conditions when used to help treat many animals. The continued utilization and integration of these techniques into an overall approach to health provides a valuable insight into benefitting future medical treatments. With many more veterinarians making these techniques a priority in their learning, they are creating more options for animals to better recover. The veterinarians are able to create a more comprehensive approach and truly try every possible option to help an animal improve and heal. Veterinarians are also creating various
Friedrichs 6 routes that an owner could take based on what they believe in and what they are capable of providing to the treatment plan. Eastern medicine's incorporation into Western medicine and techniques is helping not only animals receive better treatment and a better life, but also helping owners have multiple options for their pet.
Friedrichs 7 Works Cited Chi Institute of Chinese Herbal Medicine. 2017, www.tcvm.com/about/ WhatisTCVM.aspx. Accessed 26 Sept. 2017. "International Veterinary Acupuncture Society." International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, 2017, www.ivas.org/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017. "New veterinary clinic in Cheyenne provides medical acupuncture, laser treatments." Wyoming Tribune-Eagle [Cheyenne, WY], 7 Sept. 2017. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Accessed 13 Sept. 2017. Schenker, Matthew. "Healthy Integration." Dog World, vol. 93, no. 7, July 2008, p. 38. EBSCOhost. Walker-Baird, Alison. "Frederick, Md.-Area Veterinarian Gives Talk on Holistic Medicine." Frederick News-Post, the (MD), 16 Apr. 2007. EBSCOhost. "What is Holistic Veterinary Medicine?" American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, www.ahvma.org/what-is-holistic-veterinary-medicine/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017. "What is Veterinary Chiropractic." International Veterinary Chiropractic Association, 2017, ivca.de/about-us/chiropractic/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.