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Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicines

Acupuncture has been in use in Asia for thousands of years, being used to treat farm animals, and now being used to treat companion animals as well. Acupuncture and its sister, Chinese Herbal medicine provide non-pharmaceutical medical care for many millions of people around the world. It is very effective in animals to treat a variety of concerns and conditions.

Conditions Addressed by Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Herbal Veterinary Medicine:

• Pain
• Arthritis
• Epilepsy
• Paralysis
• Immune system
• Liver
• Skin problems
• Lick granulomas
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting

Traditional Chinese medicine is a holistic, integrative medical system that incorporates a wide variety of modalities in addition to acupuncture and herbal therapies. It includes a form of massage known as Tui-na (Tween Nah); dietary therapies and life style adaptation to manage disease problems.

Dr. Silver received his certification in Veterinary Acupuncture from the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) in 1993. For 7 years Dr Silver co-taught and developed the curriculum for the Basic Course in Chinese Herbal Veterinary Medicine sponsored by IVAS. Dr Silver ended his involvement with this course in 2001. Dr Silver was fortunate to have co-taught in this course with Dr Huisheng Xie, Dr Cheryl Schwartz, Dr. Jake Fratkin, and Dr. Steve Marsden.

Patients coming to Boulder’s Natural Animal for TCM services will be seen initially by Dr Silver, who will conduct a thorough examination and history taking, as well as a diet history and TCM examination to include tongue and pulse taking. From this information, Dr Silver can then decide upon the TCM diagnosis, and the therapeutic strategy, which usually includes a Chinese herbal formula that is individualized to the specifics of the patient, a protocol for administering acupuncture, with a mind achieving the optimal results as soon as possible, and dietary recommendations. Dr Silver’s initial visit is nearly an hour. Follow up visits for ongoing acupuncture or re-evaluations are about half the cost of the initial visit.