Animal Health

Conventional vs Alternative Animal Healing Methods, part 2

Diane Weinmann Animal Health , , , , ,
Photo courtesy of Natural Healers (http://www.naturalhealers.com/alternative-medicine/animal-therapy/)
Photo courtesy of Natural Healers (http://www.naturalhealers.com/alternative-medicine/animal-therapy/)

In last week’s blog I discussed the differences between traditional veterinary, alternative, complementary and integrative care.  In today’s blog I am going to explain some treatment options that fall under alternative and complementary care.

A holistic vet can bring a wide variety of treatment options that may have a wide encompassing affect than just using traditional veterinary medicine.  After all, we are simply seeking the best for our pets, right?  A holistically trained vet or alternative therapy provider can bring the following treatment options to the table for consideration and use with your pet which can be used as a stand- alone healing modality or in conjunction with traditional veterinary care:

Aromatherapy using therapy grade essential oils to heal emotional and physical issues can be used  alone or with other healing techniques.

Animal communications can be used to heal emotional issues.  It uses telepathy to communicate a thought from one person/animal to another. Technically, telepathy is the communication between beings using thoughts, feelings, desires, or other means that cannot be understood in terms of known scientific laws.  Telepathy is considered a form of extra-sensory perception and is often connected to various paranormal phenomena such as precognition, clairvoyance and empathy.

Bach flower essences are all natural, very dilute solutions made from spring water, an alcohol preservative, and the parts of specific flowers. They are used to help balance the emotions and bring about a state of equilibrium in living organisms, and have been successfully used with people and animals to treat a specific emotion or state of mind such as fear, anger, apathy, anxiety, anger, grief, etc.  This healing technique does not negatively interact any other healing modalities.

A Certified Nutritionist can recommend changes including mineral supplements, enzymes, vitamins, fatty  and amino acids to make up nutritional shortfalls in the diet which will complement any other medical steps.

Massage uses the sensation of touch to engage your pet’s mind. A light touch brings awareness to the coat and upper layers of connective tissue and surrounding superficial muscles. Stronger pressure heightens awareness of deeper muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments. Joint mobilization promotes body-movement awareness and gives the animal permission for exploration of movement to rediscover his “place of comfort.”

Chiropractic care maintains each joint, especially the spine.  By freeing the spinal nervous system which is connected to the brain, they can establish pain free flow of energy from the brain through to the extremities.

Energy-based body work which includes: TTouch, Healing Touch for Animals, Reiki, and acupressure to elicit a state of well-being emotionally or physically and is great for relieving pain and stress.

Healing with crystals uses the energy of the crystal to invoke both physical and emotional healing.

Color therapy has been known to strengthen, cleanse, invigorate, balance and may regulate metabolic processes positively influencing bodily functions and moods.  It harnesses the nutritional aspects of color to provide emotional, physical, anti-aging, and spiritual benefits.

Certified Herbalist using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses plant remedies to treat a variety of ailments. For example, alfalfa is used for arthritis and allergies.

Acupuncture uses very fine needles inserted into specific areas on your pet’s body to balance the flow of energy.

Homeopathic remedies are used to jumpstart the animal’s own healing response with very diluted substances that cause the same symptoms the dog is suffering from. For instance, a dog with diarrhea would be given tiny amounts of a substance that causes diarrhea.

Be aware that some veterinarians don’t care for alternative therapies since, unlike conventional veterinary medicine; most of them haven’t been scientifically proven to work.  However, that doesn’t mean they’re ineffective; it just means they haven’t been put to the test in well-conducted studies.

There are plenty of vets who are open to the alternative approach. Some veterinary schools now provide studies in holistic medicine, and some vets offer alternative therapies alongside conventional treatments as they see the benefit in treating the whole animal not just the disease.  Why not try everything possible to bring your beloved animal companion into wellness?

Conventional vs Alternative Animal Healing Methods

Diane Weinmann Animal Health , , , ,
Photo courtesy of ct.gov.
Photo courtesy of ct.gov.

Conventional (Traditional) western veterinary medicine is exactly what you have known all your life. You take your pet to the vet when they are sick or for an animal check- up much like you would do for yourself. If your pet is ill, the vet may prescribe antibiotics, pills, salves etc. Your vet will use diagnostic tests like x-rays, MRIs, ultra sounds and even exploratory surgery could be an option to obtain information to enable your veterinary professional to make a diagnosis. If your pet is healthy, they will perform several techniques to verify you pet’s health, for instance, listening to their heart or looking in their mouth and ears. They will probably run their hands over your pet looking for “issues”. You may be required to bring in a stool or urine sample for analysis. You can obtain maintenance prescriptions like heartworm or flea and tick medicines from your neighborhood vet.

While there is nothing wrong with using traditional western medicine to help your pet, there are; however, options for expanding the care you provide to your beloved animal companion. When you use alternative medicine to help your pet feel better or remain healthy you employ many different tactics for wellness.

Complementary medicine refers to healing practices and products that work in conjunction with traditional medicine. For example, a cancer patient receiving chemotherapy may also undergo acupuncture to help manage chemo side effects.

Alternative medicine is not used as a complement to, but rather as a substitute for traditional therapy. An example would be a pet with cancer whose owner forgoes recommended chemotherapy or surgery and instead chooses to treat the disease with specific dietary changes.

Complementary and alternative medicines are categories of medicine that includes a variety of treatment approaches that fall outside the realm of conventional medicine. Employing holistic therapies and medicine is about viewing and treating the body as a whole. This is very different from the conventional medical approach.

Integrative medicine draws from both complementary medicine and alternative medicine and combines these with traditional Western therapies.

Many pet owners find that the common sense principles integrative medicine relies on really resonate with them. Often, common sense principles for creating wellness are overlooked in the search for hard-core science but not without consequences.

Lots of different therapies fall under the umbrella of alternative medicine (also called holistic medicine). Many of these therapies have this philosophy in common: consider and treat all aspects of the pet’s life, not just the symptoms. Check in with my blog next week to learn more about alternative and complementary medicine.