​Beadle Lake Veterinary Clinic

   Don't Just Participate...Perform!    

​Integrative Therapies - ​Chiropractic & Acupuncture

The BLVC Equine Performance Team emphasizes the importance of integrative medicine, such as acupuncture and chiropractic, in the treatment of certain injuries as well as general maintenance of the equine and canine athletes.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic is often misunderstood as ‘putting a bone back into place’, when in reality the technique primarily affects the nervous system; the nerves then communicate with the muscles to move the bone appropriately, restoring normal motion and function to the body. Chiropractic care can be used to relieve pain, improve joint range of motion, restore normal nerve and muscle function, and can help to prevent injuries. Simply, chiropractic helps to keep the body communicating with itself to ensure optimal function and movement. We use it commonly in conjunction with acupuncture to achieve the best results.

Why and how do horses benefit from chiropractic? With chronic ‘wear and tear’ or injury, the spinal column joints can become restricted in motion, which affects the function of the nerves that exit the spine in that location and provide the nerve impulses for the rest of the body. With time, the nerves and soft tissue in the area can become inflamed, causing pain, stiffness, nerve & muscle dysfunction, and even medical problems such as stomach ulcers. If a joint restriction is found, the doctor will apply a specifically directed motion to restore normal movement to the joint and surrounding tissues.

Acupuncture 

 The practice of acupuncture is an aspect of traditional Chinese medicine that has existed for thousands of years, well before Western medicine was even described. As such, acupuncture can be a very helpful adjunct therapy to our traditional veterinary medicine diagnostics and treatment options. Although an ancient technique, there is increasing research describing how and why acupuncture works.

Veterinary acupuncture involves the use of small needles inserted at specific points along meridians to affect the body’s flow of energy (Qi) and balance. At these specific points lie an increased number of free nerve endings, tiny blood vessels, and lymphatics, which can be stimulated by the needle technique to influence the movement of energy through the body. In general, acupuncture helps to keep the body in balance so that it can maintain and heal itself more effectively.  Specifically, acupuncture can be used to relieve pain, stimulate the nervous system, regulate the immune system, and improve overall performance. At BLVC, we primarily use acupuncture to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, but it can also be very helpful with internal medicine cases, such as stomach ulcers and other organ dysfunction. 

We also offer chiropractic and acupuncture services for dogs and cats!