Bonnie D. Wright, DVM, DACVAA, CVMA, CVPP, CCRT, CCRP, explains how acupuncture complements medications and when improvements may appear.
In this video, Bonnie D. Wright, DVM, DACVAA, CVMA, CVPP, CCRT, CCRP, discusses how veterinarians new to acupuncture can begin integrating non-pharmacologic tools into practice and what to realistically expect once treatment starts, describing how acupuncture, much like exercise, serve as non-pharmacologic tools that support neurologic, myofascial, and immune function. She also explains how quickly patients may show improvement after initiating acupuncture therapy, from immediate calming effects to more gradual changes seen over multiple sessions.
Below is a partial transcript, lightly edited for clarity.
dvm360: For veterinarians new to acupuncture, what is one practical takeaway from your session that could be implemented immediately in practice?
Wright: I think something I really like to reinforce is that thinking of multimodal veterinary practice or integrative practice through the lens of both pharmacology and what I call non-pharmacologic interventions; and that can be something that you have to go learn about, like acupuncture. It can also be as simple as learning some basic suggestions on motion exercise, using how the body moves itself through space to improve some of that immunologic and myofascial signaling that we get with acupuncture.
So, I see acupuncture and exercise as very related in terms of being non-pharmacologic input that are beneficial for both the nervous system and the myofascial system and the immunologic system. So really starting to think, "Oh, what other things can I add here?" If you haven’t already learned acupuncture, there's ways to do that without going and taking an acupuncture course. But of course, I think acupuncture is a great tool for all veterinarians. So I think as you get inspired to be integrative, going into learning acupuncture can really change practice, change the way a veterinarian interacts with an animal’s tissues and the information that gives them. So start small, start with something like thinking deliberately about exercise, and then just keep adding to it.
dvm360: In your experience, how quickly do patients typically show improvement after initiating acupuncture therapy?
Wright: Because what we're doing is modifying homeostasis, we don't always expect a response the very first day that we treat. So, with acupuncture we usually recommend that we get 3 or 4 treatments done in a weekly to every-other-week sort of timeframe to establish...