Acupuncture Pain Relief Without Drugs

Would you agree that the first question related to acupuncture pain relief is: "Does needling hurt?"

A sensible pet owner, like you, might recall the memories of having to "drag" your dog or cat to the vet for the annual routine checks and vaccinations, where the fine injection neddle seems to look like a "huge" and painful device.

Sterile, fine and flexible needles

Now, acupuncture is nothing like this : the needles used are very thin and fine (~0.4 - 0.2mm in diameter), flexible, sterile and individually packed and disposable. With the "no-touch" needling technique they are inserted into the skin with the help of a guidance tube, so they stay sterile and can be inserted safely.
They are used only once, so they are always very sharp.

The moment the needle is inserted into the skin might cause occasionally a sensation like a short "prick" which will fade very soon.

I needle myself rather frequently and feel it as a very relaxing, painless and gentle procedure.
And so do my patients!

Most of them are getting very relaxed, cats and dogs lie down, horses and donkeys stand very calm and laid back, holding the head down with loose lower lips. Acupuncture pain relief is in a lot of cases immediate.

Needling trigger points can be slightly more painful if the trigger point is very sensitive. During the first assessment these trigger points are usually detected via palpation and needled only with caution or avoided during the initial sessions.

Animals are usually very relaxed after a treatment and the individual response to a session is depending on the animal itself: some pets will show for up to 24 -48 hours after treatment a worsening of symptoms and you might think the treatment failed. But this exacerbation is usually mild and will disappear.

How Many Sessions Will My Pet Need?

Acupuncture is a complementary treatment, a regulating process that can help to initiate healing and relieve pain.
There are conditions that resppond very well, but it is not a cure-all. Working thoroughly together with your normal vet and implementing acupuncture treatment at the right time will deliver best results.

Generally, I tell pet owners that if there is no change at all after four weekly treatment sessions, their pet is probably not going to respond to acupuncture.

You can expect some change, often you might experience your pet moving around easier or behaving differently.
What you should not expect from acupuncture is a full cure after a few sessions.

Acupuncture pain relief of muscular trigger points requires usually a sequence of about 5 - 10 treatments.

Muscles with painful trigger points have normally been used less, so they might be tense, shortened, wasted in mass.

To reactivate those muscles needling will help to stimulate the associated nerves and reactivates once used and "shut-down" nerval fibres.

Needling has got a cumulative effect, so a sequence of treatments over a certain time is required to see a result.

Treatment Plan

The variety of pet species explains why a treatment plan needs to be adjusted to the individual condition of each patient: cats, birds and horses have got a more responsive nervous system than dogs have got. So they will likely need fewer or less frequent treatment than, for example, a dog.

Assessment-Examination-Needling

A typical course for a painful myofascial problem will require about 6 -8 treatments over a time of 10 - 12 weeks.

For a pet with a painful, chronic myofascial problem treatment might be similar to this outlined schedule:

During the initial session for which you should plan in about 1 hour of time, a detailed history is taken and a thorough examination takes place. I will then give the first acupuncture treatment that takes about 5- 10 minutes and use only a few needles.

Acupuncture pain relief effects will be monitored and you will need to observe your pet closely at home.

Subsequent sessions in one weekly intervals will take 30 minutes of length. Your pet will be re-examined and re-evaluated and finally treated for a length of around 10 - 20 minutes.

After 4 -5 weekly sessions and depending on the individual response of the patient, the interval between sessions will become longer. First on a 2-weekly, then monthly base.

How much does Treatment cost ?

Charges at the Veterinary Acupuncture Practice are currently:

New patient assessment:
(Duration: usually 40 -60 min, includes initial history, exam, and/or acupuncture)
GBP 80 (horse/ donkey)
GBP 60 (dog/ cat)

Subsequent Session:
(Duration: usually 20 - 30 min, includes recheck exam and acupuncture)
GBP 40 ( horse/ donkey)
GBP 30 (dog/ cat)

Mileage: