Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine:
Consists of Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese herbalism, Food Therapy and Tui-Na (a form of medical manipulation/massage).
Basic Acupuncture is the beginning course for this form of alternative medicine. It is actually just the beginning introduction to a complete medical system. Basic Acupuncture courses are offered through IVAS (the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society) and the Chi Institute, these courses are based primarily on TCVM theory. There is a course on medical acupuncture, taught based on neuro-anatomic principles out of University of Colorado as well.
Prescriptions for TCVM treatment (including acupuncture) are based on the traditional Chinese Medical Diagnosis, which has little or nothing to do with the conventional diagnosis. The exception to this are those trained in acupuncture on a neuroanatomic basis. Most acupuncturists trained are working off of a TCVM diagnosis however. The formation of a TCVM diagnosis will allow the practitioner to prescribe traditional Chinese herbal formulations, Tui-na or food therapy prescriptions.
To develop a TCVM diagnosis, a complete TCVM physical exam is performed, along with a Chinese medical history. These are different from conventional physical exams and history in that there is more information acquired. In the history the patient will be asked about preferences for hot or cold locations, whether they prefer warm or cold water, water intake, and how they drink/when they drink, whether the symptoms are better with or without pressure and lots of other things. The traditional Chinese physical exam is similar to the conventional physical exam with additional information acquired about tongue and pulse quality, and a more thorough description of skin, hair and mucous membrane quality.
Diagnosis is based on the Chinese medical paradigm, which was first formally described about 2000 years ago in the Neijing. This leads to diagnoses, which confuse our western minds, such as Rebellious Stomach Chi secondary to Spleen failing to descend. These are poetic diagnosis that won’t make much sense to anyone who hasn’t studied the art. They are best thought of as diagnoses in a foreign language. However the ancient Chinese were able to distinguish that there were differences between a chronic diarrhea caused by IBD and a chronic diarrhea caused by pancreatic insufficiency. In TCVM there are at least 3 different causes for Cushing's disease, which means that when a TCVM practitioner is asked which herbal therapy is appropriate for Cushing's disease (or diabetes, or incontinence) the answer is always “it depends”. It is almost impossible to suggest anything more than a basic acupuncture prescription based on a conventional medical diagnosis, without a complete TCVM physical exam.
Chinese Herbalism: CVCH - Certified Veterinary Chinese Herbalist.
Veterinary Chiropractics (Manipulative Therapies)
Chiropractics: Focuses on the relationship between structure, primarily of the spine, and function as coordinated by the nervous system and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. Treatment is based on case history and chiropractic diagnosis and specific adjustments are made using high velocity, short lever manipulation of the spine and joints. Postural analysis, gait analysis, vertebral extremity and cranial static palpation, and motion palpation, orthopedic evaluation and neurologic evaluation are also performed.
Useful Website: animalchiropractic.org
Other manipulative therapies you may see include VOM – Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation (http://www.vomtech.com/seminar.htm), and Veterinary
Osteopathy which is mostly taught in Europe. Before referring to any manipulative therapist, it is critical that you observe how they practice and what are the results. It’s a good idea to talk to the practitioner and see what their training is and what their philosophy of treatment is. Manipulative therapies can be very forceful and do real damage in the hands of the wrong practitioner, so referral to practitioners must be done with full knowledge of how they are going to treat your patient.
Veterinary Homeopathy and Homotoxicology
Homeopathy: Is the administration by mouth of very dilute remedies prescribed to specific symptoms to cure diseases. Very very small doses of substances, which cause similar symptoms, are administered. This is often described as likes cure likes. In classical homeopathy only 1 remedy is prescribed at a time, and no other form of treatment is to be used simultaneously. This includes other forms of alternative therapies and conventional medical therapies. Having said that, not all practitioners follow the strict classical homeopathy pathway and may use combined remedies or inject remedies into specific acupuncture points.
Responses to treatment from a classical homeopathy standpoint include Palliation - the animal feels better, but when the remedy wears off the problem comes back; Suppression - the problem goes away but another problem shows up and Cure - treatment with a remedy causes the problem to go away, the animal is healthy and no further treatment is necessary. This is an energetic form of medicine which is strange from a conventional view point, but does work.
Homotoxicology is related to homeopathy and is based on the idea that diseases are ultimately caused by toxins and so administration of extremely dilute amounts of homeopathic combinations designed to clear the body of these toxins are administered. Disease symptoms are considered the result of the body’s attempt to heal and should not necessarily be suppressed (see the discussion about homeopathic suppression above). Homotoxicologists may be more open than classical homeopaths to use of conventional medicine in concert with treatment
Useful website: theAVH.org, heel.com
Western Herbalism
Western Herbal Therapy is herbal medicine with it’s history primarily in the European, western world. Prescriptions are often based on the conventional medical diagnosis or symptoms seen. There are different sub-branches of this, based on cultural history. The Native American herbal choices will be different from the German herbal choices, which are different from Mediterranean herbal choices. This is mostly due to the fact that different regions grow different herbs and therefore have a different pharmacopeia.
Good western herbalism uses herbal therapies based on a combination of the science, the traditional use and the energetics of the herbs for a certain condition. You may hear them use terms such as demulcent (internally soothing), emollient (externally soothing) diaphoretic (causes perspiration), purgative and cathartic. Along with other terms which have been used for hundreds of years, since this is an old form of medicine, which split from conventional medicine hundreds of years ago.
Glossary of Herbal Terms |
