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Lately I
have made it a point of evaluating animals (in a Western
exam) for pain in the neck by moving the head through a
full range of motion. I have been surprised by the
number of animals that do show some hesitation of
movement indicative of pain.
In many
cases the owner is not even aware that the pet is having
some problems. I think of this as having a "crick
in the neck" yet animals can't tell us. TCVM can
help animals with relieving neck pain and balance a pet
as illustrated in the following case.
The
cutest little poodle came to see me several months ago
for pain in its neck. The 9-year-old dog started having
neck problems 18 months earlier when it had some trauma
to the neck. Radiographs showed a possible collapse of
the intervertebral space between C3-4.
Previous
treatment had included steroids, muscle relaxers and
pain killers. The dog improved with the medications but
would relapse and recently the painful episodes were
more frequent.
In
addition, the dog was having recurrent conjunctivitis.
The dog was very friendly, lively, easily excitable and
very vocal.
These
characteristics indicated a Fire constitution. On
examination, her eyes were red, crusty and had slight
hair loss on the upper eyelids. Her ears were red,
crusty and had yellow wax. The dog was painful on moving
the neck and she hurt whenever she barked. The tongue
was purplish red, dry and had some small cracks. The
pulses were deep, fast and weak on the left side in the
kidney area. The gums and lips were red and dry. The
ears were warm.
Since the
dog's problems had been chronic this indicated a
deficiency problem. The red tongue, lips and gums
indicated false Heat (Yin deficiency). Purple tongue
color indicated Stagnation. Pain is caused by Stagnation
of Qi. Weakness of the pulse on the left side meant Yin
deficiency.
In the
five element theory, the water element is associated
with the kidney. Kidney is associated with bones. The
eyes are associated with the liver and Wood element. The
redness indicated yin deficiency or excess heat. Ear
problems are associated with the Wood element/liver
organ.
So the
Zang-fu organs associated with these problems are the
kidney and liver. The deficiency was a yin deficiency.
Yin is the cooling aspect of the body and is also
associated with body fluids. A common analogy is the
"air conditioning" system of the body.
Menopausal
"hot flashes" in humans are an indication of
yin deficiency. The body temperature is normal but the
woman feels like she is burning up.
The
diagnosis was kidney and liver yin deficiency with local
qi stagnation in the cervical area. The treatment
principle was to tonify (build up) yin and resolve
stagnation.
Dry
needle acupuncture and laser were applied, a Chinese
herbal formula was prescribed and food therapy with
cooling foods was recommended. On the third visit the
dog was back to normal and she could bark without pain.
By the fourth visit the eyes were no longer red and the
ears were 50 percent better. The fifth visit was five
months from the initial visit and the dog had no pain,
was not on any medications other than the Chinese herbs,
the eyes were normal and the ears were normal.
With the
dog responding so well, six month "tune up"
visits, if needed, were recommended.
———
(Dr.
Connie Clemons-Chevis
practices at Alternative Medicine for Pets, which offers
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine services in
Bay St. Louis
,
Escatawpa
and
Pascagoula, Miss.
She can be reached by calling 228-671-6210.)
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