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VET VIEWPOINT...
WE VIEW THE OPINIONS OF OUR VETS ON THE
TOPIC OF
ACUPUNCTURE AND ITS ROLE IN THE
TREATMENT OF PAIN IN HORSES.
Ben Sturgeon BVM&S
BSc CertEP MRCVS
Castle Veterinary Surgeons
Louise H Cornish BVMS CertEP MRCVS
Clyde Veterinary Group
Our clinic offers Western acupuncture as a
complementary therapy. This service is very
popular with small animal clients but is also
occasionally requested by equine clients,
most commonly for chronic pain. Two of our
small animal colleagues run this service, but
the equine vet responsible for the horse or
pony monitors the progression of the case.
Anecdotally, results can be very positive but
there are, unfortunately, very few robust
studies into its potential benefits, especially
in the equine field. This may be because
there is little financial gain in acupuncture
when compared with drug development, or
it may be that it is difficult to design
objective trials. I am happy to recommend
acupuncture if requested by a client, but
I do make sure that they are aware of the
limited evidence available to support its use.
Therapy is usually prescribed for a month
before the case is reevaluated and may
continue after this period if the response
has been thought to be favourable.
Jane White BVetMed GPCert(FelP) CVPhys MRCVS
St Boniface Veterinary Clinic
Yes I believe it does. My first hands on
experience was with my own Welsh Cob x
TB with stifle arthritis. In addition to being
lame he had secondary back pain. Pain
killer anti-inflammatories provided some
relief but having seen some beneficial
results in arthritic dogs I decided to give
acupuncture a go. Being 'needle shy' meant
my colleague opted after the first treatment
to clip patches over the relevant points and
leave me to it! After 4 weekly sessions he
became more amenable to needling and
appeared more comfortable.
A formal training course in veterinary
acupuncture followed and I now use it on a
regular basis for pain management and as
an adjunct to manual and electrotherapies in
cats, dogs and horses. My preference is for
Seirin J type needles, but for those who are
either needle shy or particularly sore I find
stimulation of acupuncture points with a laser
a useful alternative.
For more information about equine
acupuncture, please contact your
local XLVets Equine practice.
SUMMER 2012 ISSUE
EQUINE MATTERS
16
I'll be honest, I'm not a yin yang guy or a
believer in holistic therapies. But I am a
scientist who, until proved otherwise, has
an open mind and will accept treatment
in all its forms as long as it makes the
patient better. Accepting that the Chinese
have used acupuncture on horses for over
5,000 years does not however, make it
right or mean that we shouldn't question
it. To say that it can and has been used
for basically any medical or orthopaedic
condition is a little silly and we need
rational clinical comparisons to confirm
its absolute relevance.
My explanation for its effectiveness is
based on the Western understanding
where the insertion of needles stimulates
responses within nervous and endocrine
systems leading to the release of natural
painkillers. As a result I almost exclusively
use acupuncture for orthopaedic pain.
But to simply treat pain in the knowledge
that its cause is still present and likely to
recur is, in my opinion, unethical.
Hence, it should not be used as a
substitute for proper investigation of the
problem (i.e. lameness, back pain).
When used in combination with exercise
management, farriery and joint therapy
acupuncture can yield excellent results in
many poor performance or lameness
related problems.
Does acupuncture have
a role in the treatment
of pain in horses?