at a glance

UNDERSTANDINGEQUINE ACUPUNCTURE
Although these horses improve when the saddle is fitted
properly, there can be residual damage to the ligaments and
tendons that can benefit from acupuncture.
Spondylosis, or arthritis of the spinal column, is characterized
by bony alterations in the vertebral body and intervertebral
disc spaces leading to painful fusion of adjacent vertebral
bodies. Inflammation in the surrounding structures leads
to damage to the nerve roots as they exit the spinal cord.
This results in pain and malfunctioning of the nerve’s signal.
Thermography of the lumbar and croup areas in these horses
shows areas of lowered skin temperature due to alterations
in blood flow. The goal of acupuncture in any form of arthritis,including
spondylosis,is to relax the local muscles and the
paraspinal muscles. This, in turn, should alleviate the tension
of the intervertebral joints and reduce the inflammation of
the joint between each vertebra.
The channels used to treat back pain are the Governing
Vessel and the inner and outer Bladder channels. Dry
needles, electroacupuncture, lasers, moxibustion, and aquapuncture
are all useful for the treatment of back pain.
Acupuncture can be particularly useful for secondary compensatory
problems associated with chronic or low-grade
lameness. In human medicine musculoskeletal pain is accompanied
by muscle shortening in the peripheral and
paraspinal muscles from spasms and contractions. Secondary
trigger points emerge and can be distant to the primary
problem. Acupuncture breaks the cycle of abnormal reflex
muscle contraction that can be associated with joint dysfunction
by blocking the sensation of pain in the brain and releasing
the body’s own natural pain killers.
GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASE
Gastrointestinal diseases such as non-surgical colic, ulcers,
inappetence (lack of appetite), and chronic diarrhea have all
been successfully treated with acupuncture. A study on 100
rabbits and 45 humans reported that acupuncture has an
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