Acupuncture is an effective primary or supportive treatment for a wide range of conditions in animals. It is especially effective for musculoskeletal pain and lameness (including spinal disease, cervical and thoraco-lumbar pain / slipped discs), arthritis and hip dysplasia. It has powerful effects on animal behaviour, especially in aged animals. Most animals with chronic pain / old age are “depressed”.
They want to be left alone and are reluctant to play or interact with people, or with other animals in the household. By easing their pain, and working on their neuroendocrine functions, acupuncture can restore their quality of life and improve their playfulness in many cases. It also can help functional conditions of the main body systems, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, urinary and reproductive. It also assists the immune system to fight infections and serious inflammations.
Acupuncture works only if the nervous system has an intact relay from the needled points to the control centres in the brain and back to the target organs or parts.
That said, acupuncture is not a panacea. Some conditions are best treated with conventional medicine, with which acupuncture can be combined to improve the results. Acupuncture works only if the nervous system has an intact relay from the needled points to the control centres in the brain and back to the target organs or parts.
When Dr Fionnuala decided to study Vet Med in UCD, she was only following in her dad’s footsteps. Her dad, Dr Phil Rogers MVB, MRCVS, who graduated from UCD in 1964, is a world-renowned teacher of veterinary acupuncture.
He has been studying acupuncture for 42 years. Since 1980, he is on the teaching panel of IVAS (International Veterinary Acupuncture Society [Link: https://www.ivas.org/ ). Phil has taught the theory and practical aspects of classical acupuncture to more than 1000 vets in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and USA. Now in retirement, he is teaching Fionnuala the art and science of this ancient therapy. He will be at her call if she needs help with more complex cases.
We accept referrals from other vets. You can ask your vet whether acupuncture might help your pet. If your vet is not sure of that, we are happy to discuss the case with her / him by phone.
For further information please call us on 044 939 1603.