Alternative And Complementary Medicine

"Alternative or complementary medicine has become much more mainstream in the treatment of humans, and consequently its benefits have been used in Veterinary medicine as well. As people turn to alternative approaches for their own health they want to offer their pets the same benefits.

Also known as Holistic medicine This approach is an umbrella that encompasses many different disciplines. There are the formal branches of alternative medicine such as chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal therapy and nutrition. There are also many related fields such as massage therapy, Shiatsu, Reiki, Contact Reflex Analysis, Kineseology, NAET and dozens of other, more esoteric fields. There are so many aspects to these treatments it would take many pages to explain them.

Dr. Beeber has studied veterinary acupuncture and herbal medicine based on TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine.

All of these disciplines believe that the body contains a central, controlling life force or energy that keeps it in balance, protects it from external pathogens and allows it to heal. When an animal (or person) is injured, gets sick, starts to age, or gets stressed, this force can become weakened and the body becomes unbalanced. Think about the number of things that can happen to our animal companions in everyday life. We carry our dogs and cats around, they jump from heights, they run and twist. Their immune systems are challenged by many things they come in contact with in our environment.

Some of these things cause reactions that we notice right away but many chip away at their reserves and manifest in more subtle ways. Consider the dog that never was afraid of things and may be getting more and more fearful. Consider the cat that vomits ""hairballs"". Consider the dog that gets diarrhea if the food is changed or it eats something different. Finally, consider the cat that is getting thirstier and thirstier. All these are signs of a deeper, underlying imbalance we call chronic disease.

At Rutherford Animal hospital we use these novel approaches to add to or complement our high quality diagnostic and surgical expertise.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been used in China for 3500 years. It is the main treatment for a quarter of the world's population. Thousands of years of acupuncture treatment prove its efficacy. The primary aim of veterinary acupuncture is to strengthen the body's immune system-to stimulate the body's adaptive-homeostatic mechanism.

Acupuncture is a technique for relieving pain and for improving the function of organ systems by stimulating acupuncture points on the surface of the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that Chi, the vital force that flows throughout the body, travels throughout the body along channels of energy flow called meridians. Acupuncture points along the meridians are treated whenever a disease condition exists that blocks the normal flow of energy along these meridians.

In many acute situations, treatment may involve aspects of surgery and drug therapy from conventional western technology, along with alternative techniques to provide a complementary whole. This form of treatment has great value for severe trauma and certain infections, and especially in chronic conditions for which there is no cure. It often outperforms other methodologies.

Herbal Medicine: The use of specific herbs and plants for medicinal purposes has been practiced for millennia all over the world. Veterinary herbal medicines include Western herbs, Ayurvedic herbs from India, traditional Chinese herbs and other herbs from all over the world. Herbs have healing powers that are capable of balancing the emotional, mental and physical dimensions of animals.

Herbal medicine is a system of treatment utilizing whole plants and plant extracts in the treatment of disease and maintenance of health. Herbalists believe that whole plants provide a broad spectrum of desirable effects, from specialized nutrition (herbs contain vitamins and minerals that drugs do not) to synergy of the various components, which may allow lower doses of pharmacologic ingredients to be used.

Herbal medicine also recognizes that certain traditional methods have validity today. For instance, there is little but food components in modern medicine that allows the practitioner to safely strengthen chronically ill patients, while herbalists utilize tonic herbs as well as nutrition for this purpose. Herbal medicine has always recognized the whole body approach and that the mind and body interact in health and disease - this knowledge is reflected in the use of herbal adaptogens and alteratives.

Various cultural systems of medicine may be used in diagnosis and prescription, in addition to current scientific knowledge. Herbs are unique in ""complementary and alternative medicine"" because we have a tradition informing us in their use, often dating back thousands of years. Herbalists use ancient knowledge and modern science to develop treatment plans for their patients.

Herbal medicine requires that the herbalist be aware of the world around us, because the tools of the trade and the environment in which they grow may be endangered by indiscriminate use. Good herbalists are conservationists and are often active in sustainable agriculture and medical initiatives world wide."