Acupuncture is a complementary therapy that can be of benefit in the treatment of various musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, neurologic, immune-mediated and other conditions. It is not meant to be a substitute for conventional veterinary medicine or surgery. It can help when medications are not working or might result in side effects, and in cases in which surgery is not an option.

In horses, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat subtle or difficult to diagnose musculoskeletal issues. Commonly used terms for such complaints include “my horse is not lame, but not right” or “they seem to have a sore back” or seem “crooked”. Often times, acupuncture may help resolve musculoskeletal issues before they result in a clinical lameness.

Acupuncture can be used to treat "primary" as well as "secondary" conditions like neck and back pain, acute and chronic laminitis, and various lower leg lameness conditions. In many cases, conventional treatments may address a primary problem and acupuncture may help resolve some of the secondary compensatory issues thereby improving the overall recovery and outcome for the horse.

Gastrointestinal issues that acupuncture may help include non-surgical colic, gas colic, impactions, diarrhea, gastric inflammation, gastric ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease and others.

Neurologic issues that may benefit from acupuncture include nerve paralysis, infectious neurologic diseases, neurologic weakness and paralysis.

Acupuncture may be a beneficial support and "balance" the immune system in any immune-mediated condition, including acute or chronic infections, immune mediated reactions to foreign substances as well as chronic immunosuppression.

YOUR VET'S ROLE

Veterinarians tend to use acupuncture most commonly to treat various musculoskeletal conditions either as an adjunct to conventional treatments or when a condition could have better results from acupuncture.

For instance, if a horse has a chronic back problem and the veterinarian has diagnosed and treated the primary issue with conventional approaches, they may use acupuncture to relieve the specific muscle spasms, pain and biomechanical imbalances that the horse is exhibiting secondary to the primary issue.

If a veterinarian is treating a non-surgical colic condition with conventional medications, they may choose to add acupuncture to help relieve the acute pain and help normalize the gastrointestinal motility.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your veterinarian can decide if acupuncture is an appropriate adjunct to the primary treatment.

HOW IT WORKS

Acupuncture stimulates specific acupoints on the skin, which help rebalance any imbalances in the body. It works through the nervous system, vascular system, neurohormonal and immune system via the body's bioelectrical circuitry to help return the body to a state of homeostasis or balance.

From an acupuncture perspective, any disease or condition is considered an imbalance in the body’s normal regulatory actions and the goal of acupuncture is to help bring the body back into balance. It helps relieve muscle spasms, pain, inflammation, overactive or underactive immune systems, neurologic activity, hormonal imbalances etc.