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WINNIE When I first arrived, Sue Youngs, the office manager of Colonial, gave me a tour of the new Wellness Center. It is located just down the street from the existing hospital. All of the veterinary cages, examination tables and equipment are beautiful and new. There are examination rooms for “wellness visits” – for animals coming in for regular checkups and vaccinations, rooms for animal physical therapy, one of which houses the really cool underwater doggie treadmill, and rooms for acupuncture treatment. <p>Sue then introduced me to Dr. Heather Murley, the acupuncture veterinarian. Dr. Murley is a graduate of the veterinary school at Michigan State University. Following her completion of veterinary school, she also studied acupuncture at Colorado State University’s Veterinary School). She has been utilizing acupuncture in the treatment of animals for approximately 3 years and was very enthusiastic about sharing information about it. </p><p>To most people, acupuncture seems very new and cutting edge, especially in the field of veterinary medicine. Dr. Murley gently pointed out that acupuncture, which originated in the Far East (China) and is considered “Eastern” medicine, is about 5,000 years old. So what may be new to us has really been successfully co-existing in our midst for a very long time. </p><p>Dr. Murley explained that acupuncture, like physical therapy, is part of a whole-body wellness approach to caring for animals. With acupuncture, the goal is to obtain a “global” response. She said that conventional Western medicine usually treats one part of the body at a time. In Western medicine, there is no drug that can be given to a patient that will give him/her a willingness to get better. Acupuncture tries to achieve wellness for the whole animal. <br /> </p> <p>Thus, when Dr. Murley treats an animal at Colonial, in addition to the hands-on acupuncture treatments that she performs, she also relies on an entire team to help the animal achieve the best possible result. In addition to herself, the team members usually include the animal’s owners and the conventional medical team at Colonial, which may have performed surgery on an animal and prescribed various medicines following surgery, etc. Sometimes the animal physical therapist is involved. Finally, the animal’s general veterinarian, whether he/she is based at Colonial, or is a veterinarian who referred the animal to Colonial for an emergency or for specialized surgery, also treats the animal at various stages of healing. </p> <p>Dr. Murley described how she uses very thin, flexible needles to treat animals. She knows how to treat a specific animal by doing the palpation examination to find out where the animal’s problem area is located, by reviewing the animal’s medical history, by speaking with the animal’s owners and by just looking at the animal, to see how he/she is moving, etc. Thus, she inserts needles into these acupuncture points. She may notice bony landmarks, slight depressions in the musculature, areas where there appears to be a “knot” or other areas which she recognizes as a result of her specialized training. <br /> </p> <p>The goal is to stimulate the nerves which, in turn, stimulate the muscles of the body and ultimately stimulate the whole body so the patient feels more relaxed, confident and has a general feeling of well being. This process also stimulates the animal’s immune system. Needles are generally inserted through the skin – in between the skin and the musculature. The needles are sometimes inserted either just barely into the skin; at other times, they are inserted directly into a muscle. </p> <p>She demonstrated that the needle is usually not painful and injected a needle into my arm so I would know how it feels. I did not feel any pain. It was interesting that the needle was just barely touching the skin and was able to move while still inserted without causing me any pain. Dr. Murley explained that this flexibility is very helpful when an animal makes an unexpected movement, turns and even lies on the needles, etc. Acupuncture is minimally invasive and generally not painful. </p><p>The best way to describe how Dr. Murley treats an animal is to use a case study. During our interview, I met Aussie, an Australian Shepherd, and her owners, Roseanna and Gary Davidson. Aussie is 12 years old. </p><p>Over the course of her life, Aussie had sustained various orthopedic injuries, including being hit by a car before she was a year old and having severe arthritis in her left hip, which resulted in her having to have her left hip joint removed later in her life. . Aussie was fine after that until July of this year, when the Davidsons realized that Aussie was having more and more difficulty walking and getting up. Finally, Aussie wouldn’t walk at all. This was very unusual for Aussie, as she is one of a three-dog family and always loved to run and play with the other dogs. </p><p>The Davidsons live in Binghamton. Thus, Aussie was initially transported to Colonial Veterinary Hospital on a stretcher. After tests were taken, it was determined that Aussie had sustained a herniated disc in her back. Once an animal has become paralyzed prior to surgery to alleviate the pressure, it is sometimes difficult for the animal to walk again. In Aussie’s case, following surgery, she still could not walk. She had suffered impairment of her sciatic nerve and her muscles were not strong enough to carry her. Dr. Murley’s goal with Aussie was to stimulate the nerves and muscles of the body so Aussie would want to try to walk again and also be able to walk again.<br /> </p> <p align=Image
Aussie finally stands on her own following an early acupuncture treatments

Dr. Murley started to treat Aussie on September 19th, and the December 5th visit was her 11th acupuncture visit. It was the first time that two weeks had passed since a prior visit. Dr. Murley stressed the fact that, in the case of Aussie, her owners, Mr. and Mrs. Davidson, were a very big part of the team working to help Aussie get better. After the surgery, although Aussie could not walk, the Davidsons would take her swimming daily. Initially, she was only able to swim a short distance. Over time, the distance increased. They would use a sling to help Aussie remain upright when she had to go outside.

Even after Aussie could swim, she still couldn’t stand upright on a land surface. The Davidsons installed a ramp which enabled Aussie to go outdoors more easily. They made adjustments to the hard, smooth surfaces of the floors in their home since Aussie first was only able to walk on rough surfaces when she did begin walking again. Since she has been treated with acupuncture, Aussie has progressed to the point where a sling is no longer needed. She can walk and even run on her own. Following her treatment, I watched as her owners gave her belly rubs. Her movements seemed entirely comfortable, even when she was rolling over for the belly rub. I also watched her walk. She walked fine. Her gait was a bit lame, but the Davidsons advised me that was due to the hip injury, which caused her to walk with her left leg somewhat protruding.

Roseanna Davidson also mentioned that, following the disc surgery, Aussie’s elbows had been starting to weaken. The acupuncture treatment specific to the elbows has even helped take the stress off of the elbows and to keep Aussie pain free. Mrs. Davidson also mentioned that Aussie no longer has to be on a strong dose of pain medicine, but is only on ½ dose of her prescribed medicine daily.

As time goes on, it is hoped that Aussie will be able to lengthen her time between acupuncture visits, and may even be able discontinue them altogether. Dr. Murley advised me that many animals respond well to acupuncture and only have to be treated several times – every animal and every condition which brought the animal to acupuncture is different. It is possible that Aussie will also undergo traditional physical therapy in the future, utilizing the animal underwater treadmill, so she is able to exercise during a time of year when it is difficult to go outside and run and play due to the cold and stormy weather.

I asked Dr. Murley what other diseases or conditions are commonly treated with acupuncture. She said arthritis and mobility issues are most commonly treated. However, she also advised that many animals are treated for allergies, skin problems and many other conditions. She said she had treated an animal for chronic ear infections. Not only have the ear infections almost been eliminated, but the animal has shown signs of being much happier, relaxed and confident.

To summarize, acupuncture has an impact on the whole system – on the mental and emotional as well as on the physical system. There are virtually no side effects, as is the case with many medications. Nothing is being cut away – acupuncture is mostly non-invasive. Acupuncture can be used on different types of animals, and also on humans.

We hope the information we obtained from Dr. Murley will one day help your pet benefit from this method of treatment. If you would like to find out more about acupuncture for your pet, you may contact Colonial Veterinary Hospital for more information or any veterinarian, who would be able to give you a referral to Colonial if it is believed that an acupuncture consult and subsequent treatment would be helpful to your pet.

In next week’s column, since so many pet owners give their pets Christmas presents, we will talk about what types of toys and treats are safe for pets.

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