Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine—Such as Acupuncture, Herbs and Chiropractic—Becoming More Mainstream SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Complementary and alternative medicine has been around for a long time. The earliest known writings about herbal medicines, for examples, are dated back to 2800 B.C. in China. While many complementary or alternative modalities may not be new, these alternative measures are growing more and more accepted by Americans as treatments for themselves and their pets. Attendance at the 144th annual convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in Washington, DC, from July 14-18 is a strong indicator of this trend. Sessions on veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic both filled up over a month before the convention.
Dr Ava Frick, owner/director of the Animal Fitness Center and veterinary medical director at Electromedical Products International, is overseeing complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) presentations at this year's convention and explained that interest in complementary medicine among veterinarians has spiked over the past five to ten years. A decade ago, interest among veterinarians in presentations and labs on CAVM was a quarter of what it is today, she explained.
"It used to be you were happy if you would get 20 veterinarians to attend a complementary medicine lab, and now you'll regularly see 80. Acupuncture is particularly popular and filled up early for the AVMA convention, and chiropractic care labs also filled up," she explained. "Statistics tell us that 36 percent of the public is using some form of complementary care for themselves. It's a sign of the times."
Using a form of CAVM to aid in the treatment of a patient doesn't require that a veterinarian throw away western medicine, Dr. Frick emphasized, and that's how it's really catching on today. For example, acupuncture is often used in tandem with analgesics and prescription drugs to help speed healing and relieve pain during and after a surgery in veterinary clinics.
"The AVMA convention's complementary care presentations help doctors become aware of what's available and the magnitude of what can be done to change the health and improve the lives of animals," she explained.
Dr. Frick will be giving a presentation at the convention on electromedicine—"The Wave of the Future." The concept behind electromedicine is that "energy medicine" can be a successful alternative to "chemical medicine" (drugs), based on the theory that all chemical reactions are basically electrical or electromagnetic in nature. Dr. Frick explained that microamperage current has been used with good results to help aid healing, to treat pain, and also to treat behavioral problems and anxiety in dogs. For example, microelectric treatments—these current levels are so low that they cannot be sensed by the animal while being applied—for short spans of time on a regular basis have been successful in treating animals with storm phobias, Dr. Frick said.
"For paralyzed animals, it can make a big difference in the return to function, and you can also use microcurrent therapy to treat phantom limb pain," she explained. "You can also use it to speed up the growth of tissue."
Dr. Gene Giggleman, DVM, who is certified by the American Chiropractic Veterinary Association and works at the Parker College of Chiropractic, will be giving two presentations and two labs on chiropractic care for animals at the AVMA convention. He explained that the veterinary chiropractic field is growing fast, although it faces hurdles.
"They don't really teach this in the veterinary schools, so there is a lot of a misunderstanding of what chiropractic care is," he explained. "There is a real need for more research into chiropractic care. We need more studies into the importance of chiropractic care."
Dr. Giggleman explained the theory behind chiropractic care is that joint immobility creates interference in the nervous system, which creates disease. Chiropractic care alleviates the disease by opening up movement in the joints.
Dr. Giggleman said both his labs will include hands-on opportunities to work with animals: the first will teach how to diagnose a subluxation and the second will introduce methods of treating animals with chiropractic care. "I can't make people proficient in chiropractic care in that time, but I can introduce it," Dr. Giggleman said.
Animal chiropractic care is common in dogs, but it's also popular in equine care. Chiropractic treatment for large animals goes back to the early 1900s.
"It is a very upcoming treatment. We need to provide this care for animals, and if we don't, other professions already are," Dr. Giggleman said, explaining that chiropractic care of animals is already being done by people with no veterinary medical training. "Chiropractors are already treating animals."
Dr. Frick said that one of the most popular forms of CAVM today is acupuncture. Dr. Joseph A. Kincaid, DVM, a certified veterinary acupuncturist of Anthony Animal Clinic, said that today his veterinary business has grown to 25 percent acupuncture, and he uses it as a complementary care in many of his cases. He will be giving presentations and labs on acupuncture at the AVMA convention and said that the response from veterinarians is very strong.
"I wouldn't say that acupuncture is mainstream, but it isn't rare anymore," Dr. Kincaid said. "In any small city you can find acupuncture today. Acupuncture is really thriving on the equine side of veterinary medicine, particularly with race horses, because people aren't allowed to give certain medicines to these horses."
Dr. Kincaid's presentation will introduce people to the theories behind Traditional Chinese Medicine, but he also emphasizes that veterinarians don't need to be experts in acupuncture to apply it to a patient and get results. His presentations will include a "cookbook" of acupuncture treatments that do everything from relieve pain to stimulate healing.
"I want people to understand that you don't have to understand acupuncture to get results," Dr. Kincaid said. "Just like you don't have to understand how antibiotics work to get results.
"The other message I want to get out is that it's not an either/or situation. Acupuncture can be a complement to traditional treatments," he said. "It's something that can be incorporated into treatment protocols to enhance results. That's the message I want to get across."
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The AVMA and its more than 75,000 member veterinarians are engaged in a wide variety of activities dedicated to advancing the science and art of animal, human and public health. Visit the AVMA Web site at www.avma.org for more information.
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