As a holistic veterinarian, I’m always looking for the best ways to reduce pain in dogs and cats, and I’ve come to rely on acupuncture because it does such a good job. Two of the most commonly used pain-relieving points are ST 36 and PC 6.
When do pets benefit from acupuncture at ST 36 and PC 6?
Pets with the following problems have pain and often benefit from needling at ST 36 and PC 6:
• Arthritis (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, immune-mediated arthritis)
• trauma (hit by car, overdoing it at agility, fall out of pickup)
• Disc disease (Hansen’s Type 1 or Type 2)
• Cancer (mast cell, squamous cell, melanoma, lymphosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma)
• Bladder infection (urinary crystals or stones, E coli, cystitis)
• Ear infection (otitis externa, otitis interna, yeast overgrowth)
How do these acupuncture points work?
Research just published in China showed that ST 36 and PC provide pain control because they change the brain. ST 36 changes the brain neural responses in pain-inhibition areas; PC06 specifically induces activities of the insula and amygdala.
This research was published in Chin Med J (Engl). 2011 Apr;124(8):1229-34. Differential temporal neural responses of pain-related regions by AP at acupoint ST36: a magnetoencephalography study. Cheng H, Zhang XT, Yan H, Bai LJ, Ai L, Wang FB, You YB, Chen P, Wang BG. Dept of Anesthesiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical Univ, Beijing 100050, China.
If your dog or cat is in pain, visit me at Waterworkz, or seek out another holistic veterinarian. We can show you how to massage PC 6 and ST 36 so that after acupuncture session, you can stimulate the points at home. Your pet will love you for it.
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