About
What is acupuncture?
In recent years, both human and veterinary medical care have taken a shift towards a more integrative approach. What that means is taking a more comprehensive approach to health care that combines the best of conventional medicine and complementary and alternative therapies.
Western medicine and nontraditional medicine are not mutually exclusive, and the integration of these practices is often extremely beneficial. The goals of both are the same: healing, maintaining a good quality of life for our patients, and disease prevention.
Acupuncture is one of the commonly used non-conventional treatments for pets that is safe and effective. It is a modality that is often offered in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) that has a very broad range of applications and has recently gained significant popularity as a sole or adjunct treatment in veterinary medicine. The mechanism of acupuncture is not fully understood at this time, but numerous current studies have provided strong evidence of at least some explanation of the effectiveness of the treatment.
Acupuncture is performed by inserting very thin sterile needles in the skin mostly along the 14 major channels that carry energy throughout the body, which can provide pain relief, stimulate the nervous and immune systems, decrease fever, regulate the gastrointestinal and circulatory systems, and address neurological and musculoskeletal disorders.
About the acupuncturist
Fenway received formal training as a conventional western medicine veterinarian both in Taiwan and in the USA. She practiced in several emergency veterinary hospitals for years before moving to Berlin. She completed and passed the exam of the Veterinary Acupuncture Certification course offered by Chi institute in Florida, USA. After learning more about Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM), she is convinced this is a good treatment modality to complement some of the areas where conventional western medicine may fall short and is excited to start offering acupuncture to pets in Berlin.