If you’ve ever owned a pet, you already know how much fun and affection they can bring. But pets also come with some pretty powerful mental and physical health benefits. They can help us reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health. The unconditional friendship and love we share with our pets can provide a refuge during the most difficult times of life.
Acupuncture may be defined as the insertion of needles into specific points on the body to produce a healing response. Each acupuncture point has specific actions when stimulated. In historical Asian culture, people known as “horse priests” commonly used acupuncture. Acupuncture remained a major interest in veterinary medicine for centuries. Its use for dogs was first described in the Tang Dynasty. In the 20th century, veterinary physicians in the United States practiced acupuncture as early as the 1970s and the demand for veterinary acupuncture has steadily increased since the 1990s.