Acupuncture Services
Dr. Kami Vickerman offers acupuncture services including dry needle, electro-acupuncture, aqua-acupuncture, hemo-acupunture, and Chinese herbal prescriptions. These services can be performed at the hospital or on ambulatory visits. Dr. Vickermanreceived her acupuncture training and certification from the Chi Institute where there is a focus on learning traditional Chinese veterinary medicine and the 5 element theory. Acupuncture is very effective for pain relief, to reduce inflammation, improve blood supply, release painful muscles or spasms, and much more.
Acupuncture is an excellent tool and is used as an additional therapy for many of the conditions we commonly encounter with our equine companions. As part of an acupuncture session, Dr. Vickerman will perform a diagnostic scan of your horse’s body to determine sore muscle groups and where that particular horse’s problem areas seem to be. If there are sensitivities within certain groups of acupuncture points, they can indicate abnormalities of a specific anatomic location or organ group. The frequency and number of acupuncture sessions will depend on what the horse is primarily being treated for. Dr. Vickerman is happy to answer any questions you may have prior to scheduling an appointment.
Common reasons we use acupuncture include:
- Musculoskeletal pain or lameness issues
- Back soreness
- Poor performance
- Weakness
- Anhidrosis (lack of sweating)
- Skin issues
- Facial nerve paralysis
- Laryngeal hemiplegia
- Sudden changes in behavior (e.g. anger, anxiety)
- Wellness – as a preventive treatment to keep horses feeling good
- To catch problem areas early with diagnostic scans
History of Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been used as part of the human health care system in China for over 2500 years. Similarly, acupuncture has been used on China’s working horse population for thousands of years. Lucky for us, that means that relatively more is known about equine acupuncture than acupuncture for dogs and cats! In America, acupuncture was rarely used until 1972 when President Nixon visited China and experienced it. Since that time, the interest in acupuncture in both the US and Europe – for humans AND animals – has expanded exponentially.
In general, acupuncture focuses on holistic, energy-based approach to health care versus the disease-oriented diagnostic and treatment models used in Western medicine. This means that acupuncture can be more effective for prevention of disease and promoting wellness.