5 Conditions That Acupuncture Can Treat in Animals

If your pet has a chronic medical condition or is experiencing pain, you want to get them the best treatment. Sometimes, conventional medicines fail to provide the desired relief. Many pet parents are turning to alternative options to maintain their pets' quality of life.

Some veterinary clinics offer acupuncture to complement conventional medicine. The alternative treatment involves using needles to stimulate specific points under the skin. Here are conditions that it can treat in animals:

Pain Management

The most common reason to get acupuncture is for pain management. It is usually used alongside traditional treatments to provide relief. Some medical options, such as chemotherapy, can lead to discomfort.

The therapy helps improve comfort during treatment and allows the pet to fight the illness. It can help avoid the need for surgery, and it can also help improve healing after surgery.

Musculoskeletal Disease

Acupuncture has effectively treated musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis for decades. Still, doctors mainly use surgery and medications to treat arthritis.

This therapy can help where conventional medicine fails to control pain. It is also ideal because, unlike drugs, it does not produce harmful side effects. It also helps treat
 

• Hip dysplasia
   

• Degenerative joint disease
   

• Intervertebral disk disease
   

• Immune-mediated arthritis

Neurological Conditions

The therapy helps promote nerve regeneration, making it effective for treating neurologic conditions. The treatment can effectively reduce seizures, facial paralysis, limb paralysis, and nerve damage. Patients with brachial plexus injuries can benefit from the treatment.

Gastrointestinal Disease

It is effective for promoting gastrointestinal function. It can help treat conditions such as constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, and pancreatitis. It can help relieve GI pain, rectal prolapse, and tenesmus or straining to pass stool. This therapy can help treat infectious conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Respiratory Diseases

It can help treat respiratory diseases in animals. Common illnesses that affect the lungs include:
 

• Asthma
   

• Coughs
   

• Congestion
   

• Nasal discharge
   

• Allergic bronchitis
   

• Feline asthma
   

• Respiratory conditions resulting from cardiac disease

Skin Diseases

Chronic skin diseases can be frustrating for pets. Severe scratching is uncomfortable for both pets and owners. The therapy can help treat chronic ear infections, atopic dermatitis, and lick granulomas. It can also help provide relief for surgical incisions and nonhealing wounds. In all these cases, the alternative treatment helps provide comfort. The comfort leads to an improvement in the pet's quality of life.

Acupuncture is accepted in the veterinary field as an effective treatment option. After assessing the condition, the veterinarian will develop a treatment plan for your pet. The therapy should never be administered without a proper diagnosis. It can help treat different animal species. Some of these animals include dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, and more.

Most animals tolerate the treatment well. However, gentle restraining is usually necessary to minimize discomfort. Acupuncture can also go along with general anesthesia.