A golden beauty with a blond mane, Sonny is a stunning picture of health. Strong and smart, he has served in search and rescue missions for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. But about 18 months ago, this 20-year-old Arabian Quarter Horse began to limp. The condition did not improve with rest and pain medication. In fact, it got worse.
His owners have learned that Sonny has ringbone, a painful arthritis-like degenerative disease that causes bone to grow around the joint at horses’ hooves and diminishes mobility. “He was chronically lame and we couldn’t seem to help him,” said Elise Wilson. “About six months ago, we had to decide whether to put him down or try something else.”
That something else was acupuncture.
“If animals are showing signs of pain, we’re often quick to put them on pain meds, which can have unwanted side effects,” said Sonny’s veterinarian, Dr. Susan Crawford, DVM. “We decided to try acupuncture. Sonny handled the needles really well.”
Wilson noticed a marked improvement after three treatments. “Honestly, it was amazing. We were very surprised,” said Wilson. “It really helps. I’m not kidding you. Sonny’s limp is basically gone and he has a very nice life.”
Sonny is not ride-able, but he is a beloved member of the family, and his owners are grateful he is alive and comfortable.
“Now I’m at the point where it’s just a maintenance thing. We treat him if he’s sore,” said Crawford, who has included acupuncture in her veterinarian toolbox for the past five years. She specifically treats large animals that have problems with walking.
Crawford is also a United Airlines 747 pilot who received her flight training in the United States Air Force. “I always wanted to be a veterinarian,” she said.
When Sept. 11 hit, Crawford took a leave of absence and attended the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. She was away from flying for eight years. Today, she is back piloting long-distance flights for United. She also makes house calls as a pet doctor.
Crawford’s interest in acupuncture began in the ‘70s. “I lived in the [San Francisco] Bay Area and had a great aunt who spent a lot of time in China. She used to get acupuncture all the time. I was fascinated by the needles in her knees and wondered how that worked. The arthritis was terrible, but acupuncture made the difference in her being able to walk and not being able to go anywhere.”
Although she witnessed the positive results, Crawford says she was a skeptic at first. “The way I look at it, if you study ancient people – say, Stonehenge, for example – they created this astronomical observatory where they could predict solstices and equinoxes. Their model was that the Earth is the center [of the solar system], which is not correct, but it still gave them the answers. Some of the ancient medicine is like that, too. We don’t really understand where they got all these answers; the model may not be correct, but it gives us results.”
She explains that the concept in Chinese medicine is balance, with a focus on diet, massage, herbal therapy, movement and acupuncture. “Disease is caused by inflammation, a stagnation of flow and energy. The goal is to relieve stagnation.”
Crawford says she sees the best results when acupuncture is used for decreasing chronic pain and also for treating an old injury when an athlete is trying to achieve a higher level of performance. “The western way is to use steroids for anti-inflammatory treatments when we run out of ideas for treating pain. Acupuncture stimulates the production of the endorphins, neurotransmitters in the brain that relieve stress and enhance pleasure. For whatever reason, acupuncture tells pain signals to stop firing. You can diminish the brain’s perception of pain or even eliminate it.”
Crawford says acupuncture sometimes can be an alternative to surgery, which can be expensive and is not guaranteed to work. She often practices palliative care, treating animals that are at the end of their lives. “The owners know there’s not much time left and they are looking for quality of life.”
Wilson got the idea for treating Sonny with acupuncture after experiencing success with Yara, her naturally energetic and enthusiastic Portuguese water dog. “She’s only five [years old], but she started to be really sore at four. She started to quit jumping up on things, like the bed. We took her for a long hike and she could hardly walk. She was really stiff and sore and in a lot of pain. I thought it was her hips or knees, but we learned she has spondylosis. It’s another progressive degenerative disease. Basically the vertebrae are bridging in her spine.”
With the prognosis, Yara’s owners were told she could not hike anymore. “I was really upset,” said Wilson. “We thought we’d try acupuncture.”
At first, Yara had a difficult time sitting still for the needles. “She was running around excitedly, but eventually after about three or four treatments, she would just go on in [to the veterinarian’s examination room] and lie down while Dr. Barnes applied the needles. She started to enjoy it.”
“We’ve seen great success with muscular skeletal issues in dogs, like hip and elbow dysplasia and spinal arthritis. We’ve had really good luck with getting dogs with a blown disc to walk again. In cats, we’ve been able to treat some cases of diabetes with herbs and acupuncture and decrease the amount of insulin they’ve needed,” said Dr. Toni Barnes, DVM, of Flagstaff’s Westside Veterinary Clinic. She has been practicing acupuncture since 1998 and prescribes Chinese herbs as well. “Herbs can help a lot with urinary tract infections in cats.”
Barnes mostly treats dogs and cats, but has also used acupuncture on a ferret. Depending on the patient and the condition, both she and Crawford will use electrical stimulation in addition to the needles to transfer heat and energy.
“Acupuncture takes away the pain,” said Barnes. “Chinese medicine looks at removing blockages to increase flow inside the body. From a scientific standpoint, we’re releasing endorphins and enkephalins, which are feel-good hormones that help block the pain receptors.”
Both Barnes and Crawford use a holistic approach in their practices, drawing from both western and eastern medicine and therapies.
“Basically, God heals, I just get the credit,” said Crawford. “Nature wants to heal. The body wants to be in balance and healthy. I’m just trying to help it get that way. I try to look at the whole situation. We can kill off harmful bacteria with antibiotics, so the body can continue to fight on its own. Sometimes, you need to use steroids. We’re just still at the tip of the iceberg with healing in general. The more we learn, the more we don’t know.”
Crawford says she finds acupuncture to be successful about 85 percent of the time; 50 percent of the animals show improvement after one treatment.
“I would definitely recommend acupuncture to others. Try it before all kinds of other meds,” said Wilson. “It’s really not that expensive and it’s so worth it.
Today, Sonny has good mobility and Yara goes for short hikes. Wilson says both animals have great lives with none of the potential side effects of drugs.
By Bonnie Stevens
Flagstaff Business News
Dr. Susan Crawford, DVM, can be reached at 928-600-2054.
Dr. Toni Barnes, DVM, practices at the Westside Veterinary Clinic, 963 W. Route 66, Suite 230, in Flagstaff. She can be reached at westsidevet@msn.com or 928-779-0148.
Leave a Reply