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COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE & THERAPY FOR SMALL ANIMALS Judith M. Shoemaker, DVM The purpose of this lecture is to provide information about complementary medicine and therapies: what they are, how they work, when they are helpful, when they are contraindicated. The term complementary is used to indicate that these modalities are an adjunct to allopathic care, not only an alternative. They may provide alternative outcomes, including the avoidance of surgery, reduction in medications needed, and the avoidance of complications in treatment or recovery. They can enhance the quality of care that we can provide and more importantly, they can enhance the quality of life for the animals. CHIROPRACTIC Chiropractic is a successful, noninvasive, cost effective
technique for treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention of many common
problems. Chiropractic is based on manipulation of joints of the spine
and extremities to effect optimum function and balance of all structures,
in other words, straightening the hardware so the software can run.
Ninety percent of the input to the nervous system is from joint receptors
and stretch receptors in tendons, ligaments, and muscles. The nervous
system runs the whole animal, therefore managing the nervous system
through these receptors is efficient, accurate care. Good chiropractic,
applied by an appropriately trained and skillful practitioner is not
violent or uncomfortable. The animals can understand it, enjoy it,
and often obtain immediate relief from it. Chiropractic adjustments may vary between practitioners;
there are more than a hundred types of chiropractic technique, many
of which are applicable to animals. The foremost consideration is
that the animal is not harmed, as should be the case in all medicine. Chiropractic care involves accurate manipulation of
individual joints through normal planes of motion using high acceleration,
short range-of-motion thrust that effects a reset of joint receptors
and normalizes joint orientation. The practitioner must have training
in both species specific anatomy and accurate technique. Chiropractic
can be very exact in managing the nervous system; sophisticated techniques
have far reaching and subtle effects. Balance in animals is the effective interaction of the
nervous system, the frame, and movement with gravity. The interface
of the nervous system with gravity is mostly through the feet. The
monitors of gravity, the balance regulating mechanisms, are in large
part, the upper cervical head-righting reflexes and the temporomandibular
joint (the jaw joint). Eighty percent of the aforementioned ninety
percent of input to the brain comes from the second cervical vertebra
and the joints rostral to it, including the skull. Therefore, appropriate
toenail management and dentistry are of the utmost importance in maintaining
balance and straightness. Chiropractic is necessary is when an animal is asymmetrical,
"dumb", or "crabby". Chiropractic may be helpful
after any trauma, toxicity, or stress. Therefore any animal with a
history of illness or accident is a potential chiropractic patient.
Chiropractic care is best used preventively and as maintenance health
care. Evaluation of young animals can minimize the future effects
of early life asymmetries and often allow these animals to reach their
full potential. Most painful pathologies - arthritis, dysplasia, disc
problems, etc. often are not primary problems. They are the signs
of overuse or hypermobility caused by restriction of normal movement
or hypomobility somewhere else in the system. Chiropractic is the
facilitation of appropriate movement of all joints so that all joints
share the stresses appropriately. The majority of chronic lameness
problems are not injury related but are the result of unbalanced wear
and tear. The use of antiinflammatories may be eliminated by normalizing
joint function and balance. The use of antiinflammatories without
resolving the cause of joint use imbalances may not be as effective,
can shorten the functional life of a joint, and may have other detrimental
physiologic effects. Usual complaints that cause owners to seek chiropractic
treatment for animals are back pain, proprioceptive problems, stiffness,
uneven gaits, arthritis, stifle, elbow and hip problems, obscure lameness,
and poor development. Animals with high stress occupations, or animals
with preexisting conditions or conformational problems, may require
more frequent adjustments than those needed for maintenance health
care. Anything that is run by the nervous system can be influenced
by chiropractic - musculo-skeletal, digestive, immune, reproductive
- all systems can improve with better neurologic function directing
them. Chiropractic care is a systematic way of eliminating structural
and neurologic dysfunctions that cause pain, alter performance, cause
organic disease, and result in emotional and training problems. Its
effects can be profound, long lasting, and life changing. It is as important to recognize the practice of poor
chiropractic technique as it is to understand good chiropractic work.
Inaccurate adjusting may not improve or can worsen the condition,
and unknowledgeable or inappropriate technique can cripple. Good work
will almost always effect noticeable improvement and will be well
received by the patient. Western and Eastern veterinary medicine are very different
but complementaryforms of health care. They differ in their philosophical
and practical view of the mind-body interaction with the world. Western
medicine evaluates the external causes and resulting pathologies of
illness and concentrates on eliminating these. Eastern medicine focuses
on basic body function and the body's reactions to illness and assists
these to eliminate or prevent disease. Acupuncture is an ancient and complex system of medicine.
Acupuncture is often an effective treatment for chronic problems of
back pain, foot and joint pain, chronic and non-responsive illness,
including allergies, lick granulomas, chronic bronchitis, kidney and
heart disease, and other immune-mediated problems. Acupuncture can
also be effective in modifying behavior. Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific receptors
by needles, laser, and other means that modify input to the nervous
system and therefore change function. The integration of neurologic
information from the body with acupuncture stimulation results in
the balancing of Qi, or energy flow, that is discussed in traditional
acupuncture theory. Its effect is somewhat analogous to the direction
of electricity by the fail-safe computer programs of power companies
that ensure that power supply is uninterrupted to utility consumers
even under conditions such as storms, increased demand, or equipment
failure. The autonomic nervous system and its reflexes control
the defense systems in the body, both internal and external. The neuroendocrine
system allows an animal to adapt to changes both inside and out. A
primitive part of the nervous system is also involved in the sensing,
control and regeneration of damaged tissue and pathologies such as
wounds, fractures, early neoplasms, inflammation, etc.. Acupuncture
can have a profound effect on modifying autonomic function and directing
this primitive system. With simple acupuncture there are no significant ill-effects; the worst that can happen is that the treatment has little or no effect. No change, however, is rare. Most animals experience a profound endorphin release and appear almost tranquilized while being treated with acupuncture. Physiologic, sensory and motor function can be immediately and sometimes permanently normalized. MASSAGE There are many different massage techniques, each with
a different approach, including sports massage, myofascial release,
cross-fiber friction massage, and cranial techniques. Massage assists
normal body function by increasing circulation, facilitating scar
release, providing neuro-muscular re-balancing and relaxation. Massage can be used for performance enhancement. It can be very helpful in reorganizing musculature that has been unbalanced by chronic compensation for pain. Massage is contraindicated if an animal has a fever, if the injury is acute, or if there is an area of bruising. Not only is massage not helpful in those cases, but it can actually be detrimental. A qualified, preferably certified, massage therapist should determine whether massage is appropriate or not. ELECTROMAGNETIC THERAPY EMT is the use of electromagnetic fields to stimulate
or accelerate blood flow and energy movement within tissues to alleviate
inflammation and pain and to allow maximum healing to occur. Two types
of devices are common: the pulsed alternating field type (with electrical
wiring in the blankets, bandages, or bedding) which are adjustable
in strength, frequency, and duration of treatment, and the static
type (which utilize small magnets arranged in alternating polarities
within the blankets and wraps). Alternating polarities attract ions in blood and cells
increasing fluid flow as well as enhancing ion exchange at the cell
membrane level. This increases function at the cellular and vascular
level. EMT can make tissues more flexible and less prone to injury.
It can be used for maintaining sufficient blood flow for toxin removal
and repair after strenuous work in performance animals. The increase
in electrical energy flow can also enhance the flow established by
acupuncture. In conjunction with other therapy modalities, it can
reduce rehabilitation time after surgery. EMT can also be used in
healing fractures; it is excellent for treating nonunions. EMT usually calms and relaxes the animal. Some patients signs may be slightly worse immediately after treatment - these animals usually have severe mechanical problems resulting in major blockages in the nervous and the circulatory system. These animals often show improvement from the treatment several hours later. LASER THERAPY Cohesive infrared light, or cold laser, can be used
to provide energy for cellular metabolism by converting ADP to ATP
in the mitochondria, thus facilitating transport of nutrients into
and toxins out of cells. It is especially valuable in conditions where
the blood supply may be insufficient to support the cells. Laser therapy
can keep cells alive and functioning and thus enable these injuries
to heal faster, with less scarring. Laser therapy is most commonly used for wounds and soft tissue healing. It is also useful as a powerful acupuncture tool. It can reduce pain and tension and reset proprioception, therefore normalizing function. Laser treatment will not block structural pain such that an animal will unknowingly hurt an injured limb. It is not appropriate to use lasers over certain topical medications, infections, or tumors. HOMEOPATHY Homeopathy is electrical informational medicine. A substance that is shown to produce particular signs or symptoms is serially diluted and succussed (vigorously shaken) until there is a very small proportion of the original substance remaining in the solution. It is thought that this "infinitesimal dose", as it is called, contains the electrochemical pattern of the medicinal substance. The science of physics is now beginning to explain the underlying mechanism of the interaction of the body with this electronic signature. Homeopathic remedies are specific for sets of neuronal systems within the body. Activation or deactivation of these neuron groups creates a spectrum of specific signs and symptoms. Accurate use of remedies can profoundly and quickly change function. A basic tenet of homeopathy is that "like cures like". Because of this, it is often mistakenly likened to vaccination. However, homeopathic remedies differ fundamentally from vaccines. Homeopathic remedies affect the energy of the body in order to stimulate healing and in doing so they strengthen the body's response to a disease-related stress. NUTRITION AND HERBS Nutrition is fundamental to health. Inappropriate substances
or imbalances in the diet can sabotage the best treatment. Recently,
awareness of the inadequacies of commercial animal diets has increased
and alternatives such as raw diets and natural diets with human grade
ingredients have become available. The benefits of using these diets
are obvious in everything from coat quality to behavior and in reduction
of signs of degenerative disease. Herbs can be as powerful as synthetic drugs; they contain
pharmacological chemicals. Native North and South American and Eastern/Chinese/Ayurvedic
herbology are very complex systems of medicine. Balanced herbal prescriptions
can create effects not achievable with drug management. Prescribing
of herbs or extrapolating from popular human uses may not be safe
for animals as they may not respond physiologically in the same way
as humans. Knowledgeable veterinary practitioners must be consulted
for guidance in the use of these substances. REFERENCES & RESOURCES American Veterinary Chiropractic Association: http://www.animalchiropractic.org/ International Veterinary Acupuncture Society: http://www.ivas.org/ The American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture: http://www.aava.org/ The Veterinary Acupuncture Page: http://users.med.auth.gr/~karanik/english/veter.htm Schwartz C. Four Paws Five Directions, A Guide to Chinese
Medicine for Cats and Dogs. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 1996. The Healing Oasis Wellness Center: http://www.thehealingoasis.com/School/school.html Steiss JE. Magnetic Field Therapy: Theory and Application
Principles, in Proceedings. 1st International Symposium on Rehabilitation
and Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine 1999;51-53. Castro M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. New York:
St. Martin's Press,1990. Martin AN. Food Pets Die For, Shocking Facts About Pet
Food. Oregon: NewSage Press, 1997. The Nutraceutical Alliance: http://www.nutraceuticalalliance.com/
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