Acupuncture Reduces Pain for Horses
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At the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, Dr. Stuart Clark-Price offers acupuncture therapy for dogs and horses to promote orthopedic rehabilitation and, increasingly, to manage pain.
"Acupuncture is one of many pain management options available for veterinary patients, and it is typically used in conjunction with other approaches. It is nice to have a non-pharmaceutical option for dealing with pain."
It may seem counterintuitive, but acupuncture needles do not hurt. The needles used are sterile and very thin. The goal is to stimulate the nerve. Because acupuncture can affect nerve signaling, it is a logical tool for managing pain. It seems to be most effective in treating cases of chronic pain, but patients recovering from surgery are also good candidates for acupuncture therapy. Dogs that have undergone orthopedic surgeries, such as repair of a torn cruciate ligament or hip surgeries, can benefit.
In horses, acupuncture may be used for pain management in colic surgery cases. It is also useful for treating chronic pain in horses. Horses get sore muscles, especially back muscles that are stressed from the saddle. This type of pain is more often seen
in athlete-horses that experience great physical demands. Horses with chronic lameness can benefit from the added relief provided by acupuncture.
Acupuncture at Veterinary School
Acupuncture, which has its roots in eastern countries, is a technique of inserting and manipulating very fine needles into specific points on the body with the intention of relieving pain and other therapeutic purposes. This ancient practice has long been used among human patients and, over the past few decades, has gained popularity and recognition in veterinary medicine.
“Acupuncture has proven to be a safe and relatively painless treatment for a variety of illnesses in animals,” says Dr. Mark Crisman, a professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. He has been practicing the therapy for over a decade on equine patients and now teaches others who desire certification.
The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital offers this therapy to both large and small animals. Conditions that respond well to acupuncture range from skin disorders to musculoskeletal issues to neurological problems.
"While pain and osteoarthritis are common conditions we treat with acupuncture in small animals,” said Dr. Bess Pierce, an associate professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, who is leading the hospital’s community practice, “we certainly provide therapy for a multitude of problems."
Veterinarians who wish to practice acupuncture most undergo an additional training process.
