Welcome to acu in practice! This week is a double feature – Ralph and Sugar Bear, both senior pugs – These two are a joy to work with. They each have their unique set of challenges, but they both have spinal arthritis and collapsing trachea. One of the main signs I work on during their visits is the hunched posture you see in their “before” photos. That is, before we do acupuncture with electrostimulation to relax their muscles around the spine, strengthen the actual muscle fibers, and stimulate the nerves coming off of the spine. It is much easier to elongate the spine when the patient relaxes and lies down, as you can see in these photos. Ralph took to the treatments right away and Sugar Bear was a little skeptical, but he settled in by his second treatment. For the “boys” we are also working on collapsing trachea by using acupuncture points associated with the nerves going to that area and the larynx. This is a more major problem for Sugar Bear and it does require an integrative approach with western medications, herbs, supplements, food therapy and the acu. One major change for Sugar Bear since beginning the program is that he is less anxious and not vocalizing as often. Anxiety can trigger collapsing trachea episodes so this is a win. Ralph has been dealing with cerebellar abnormalities that cause his head to sway and affect his balance. One of our biggest wins for Ralph is that each time he has returned, he has gained more control over his head movements. Together with their owners, we will continue to work for wins for these boys! They are truly resilient and super senior pets!
Acupuncture point RX: Ralph and Sugar Bear: GV20, GV 14, Bl 13 (Sugar Bear with E-stim) CV22, BL 17 or 18, BL 20 + BL 23 (Ralph E Stim bilateral) GV 4, Lumbar BH, BL 54, ST 36, SP 6, consider extraordinary vessels DU Mai and Chong Mai Ralph - GB 20, GB 39 Sugar Bear - LU 1 (his breath immediately evened out when using this point) Two canine patients - multiple problems - mixed patterns with similarities. Both dealing with Wei Syndomes and decline of Jing Essence. Each with their own presentations.
This post was created by Nell Ostermeier, DVM, CVA, FAAVA and is intended for informational use, not to replace medical advice. You can learn more about the author and additional cases at People + Pet Integrated on Facebook/Instagram. #integrativevet #veterinaryacupuncture #pugsarepeopletoo #seniordogsrock #pugs #tcvm