There is research showing many different types of pain are helped by acupuncture, including pain that’s aching, piercing, sharp &; stingy, and deep and slow. There is also a type of irritating numbness & tingling pain called neuropathic pain that is helped by acupuncture.
A study just published by a British group suggested that neuropathic pain is improved by acupuncture. In this study, patients with neuropathic pain caused by chemotherapy were treated with acupuncture. An amazing 82% of the patients treated by acupuncture improved. Patients were treated for 6 weeks using PC 6, ST 36 or LV 3.
How is this information helpful for pet families? We can assume that pets have pain as often as humans, even though they are often better at disguising their suffering than we are. We can assume that just as humans have neuropathic pain, pets have neuropathic pain. For example, dogs &; cats with the following conditions may experience neuropathic pain:
- nerve impingement,
- lumbosacral stenosis,
- dislocations,
- diabetic neuropathy,
- chronic B vitamin depletion,
- small bowel intestinal overgrowth,
- inflammatory bowel disease
- chemotherapy
- diabetes.
Because dogs and cats usually respond to acupuncture in the same way that humans do, we can hope that a high percentage of dogs and cats with neuropathic pain to benefit from acupuncture.
The study will be published this month in Acupunct Med. 2011 Sep;29(3):230-3. Evaluation of acupuncture in the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Donald GK, Tobin I, Stringer J. Complementary Therapy Service, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Wilmslow Road,
Manchester M20 4BX, UK; graeme.donald@christie.nhs.uk.
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