Research published in International Journal of Sports Medicine in Oct, 2011, showed that 10 min of acupuncture and 20 min of heating of one ankle increased blood flow and oxygenation in both ankles. The study was conducted in humans, but the same benefit occurs in cats & dogs.
Dogs bite when in pain
Has your dog ever had such a sore area it snapped when you tried to touch it? Ever been playing in the park with your dog when it suddenly became toe-touching lame and wouldn't let you examine its leg? You recognize your pet needs help but because the leg hurts, your dog won't let you to go near it.
What not to do
Don't bully your dog into making you take a look and don't give a NSAID. Bullying your dog only teaches it not to trust you and giving a pain medication like aspirin, Metacam, Rimadyl, Etogesic or Piroxicam, all examples of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), is unwise because inflammation sends the signal needed to heal the injury.
How to relieve pain when your pet won't let you touch it
Studies like the one published in the Journal of Sports Medicine show that we can improve blood flow and oxygenation by treating the opposite limb. Improving blood flow and oxygenation reduce pain because the blood can carry off waste products formed when the area was injured.
Common approach in TCM
The practice of treating the nonpainful area to benefit the painful area is common in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). For example, if the right knee is sore, we treat the left knee; if the right ankle is sore, we treat the left. By treating the nonpainful area, we allow the body to relax rather than remain in a hypervigalent, painful state, and we increase blood flow and oxygenation of both limbs.
After treating the nonpainful limb, use laser therapy
Once the pet is comfortable, I follow acupuncture treatment of the nonpainful area with laser therapy of the sore area. Because laser therapy creates no sensation, pets that settle following acupuncture allow treatment of painful area. With this form of treatment, we're not asking pets to be brave and suck it up when they feel pain, but we're showing them they can trust us to take care of them without causing pain.
Treating anxious dogs
This same approach is helpful with dogs who would never bite but are so anxious they tremble when coming to the clinic. Anxious dogs are already at the threshold of not being able to accept more stimulus, even a needle in a painful area, so treating a nonpainful area first is both kind and effective.
The original research
If you’d like to read the original research, which was done on human ankles, look for: Changes in blood circulation of the contralateral achilles tendon during and after AP and heating. The principal authors were Kubo K, Yajima H, Takayama M, Ikebukuro T, Mizoguchi H, Takakura N. Life Science (Sports Sciences), Univ of Tokyo, Japan.
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