New Service Alert! Acupuncture and Chiropractic

We are thrilled to introduce veterinary acupuncture and veterinary spinal manipulation therapy (chiropractic treatment) with Dr. Veronica Cruz at BLVD Vet Logan Square! A word from Dr. Cruz:

I am Dr. Veronica Cruz and I am truly excited to begin offering veterinary acupuncture and veterinary spinal manipulation therapy (VSMT) to the clients and patients of BLVD Vet Logan Square.  I successfully completed the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) basic course in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) and Acupuncture in 2008 and have been practicing acupuncture on my patients on and off since then.  In December of 2022, I became certified in VSMT (often called “chiropractic” treatment) through the Healing Oasis Wellness Center in Wisconsin. These two modalities complement each other well and am excited to see how VSMT can expand my holistic treatment for your furry family members.

The majority of my patients come to me with mobility concerns associated with age or previous injury, though I have used acupuncture in conjunction with traditional western medicine to address various conditions such as: urinary obstruction, pancreatitis, inappropriate urination, kidney disease and various neurologic conditions, when appropriate and safe. Many pet owners want to know how acupuncture works.  This is a valid question and my answer depends on how you prefer to think about medicine, in all honesty.

For clients that prefer more of a western medical explanation, acupuncture has been documented via advanced imaging studies to stimulate the central nervous system.  The IVAS website puts it nicely, “In western medical terms, acupuncture can assist the body to heal itself by affecting certain physiological changes. For example, acupuncture can stimulate nerves, increase blood circulation, relieve muscle spasm, and cause the release of hormones, such as endorphins (one of the body’s pain control chemicals) and cortisol (a natural steroid). Although many of acupuncture’s physiological effects have been studied, many more are still unknown. Further research must be conducted to discover all of acupuncture’s effects and its proper uses in veterinary medicine.” (International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, 2023.)

For clients who are comfortable with the metaphysical, my answer is:  Acupuncture stimulates Qi (the body’s life force) at specific points along the body’s meridians (channels) to achieve specific goals such as removing blockages of qi, stimulating movement of qi, building qi, releasing excessive qi or improving the general flow of qi.  These points have been used for thousands of years by Chinese doctors on both humans and animals.  

VSMT (chiropractic) is traditionally called upon for mobility or performance concerns, but just like acupuncture, it can be helpful for non-mobility issues such as abdominal pain, urinary ailments, or digestive problems.  When performing spinal manipulation/ adjustments, I am doing much more than “moving a bone back into place”; I am stimulating nerves at the spinal cord level.  These nerves are the same ones that innervate the stomach, intestines, heart, lungs, etc.  Stimulating these nerves changes the way the brain interprets the signal and often dampens pain responses or improves nerve stimulation improving blood flow, glucose metabolism and cellular function to the associated tissues.

The beauty of acupuncture and VSMT is that they are very safe when performed by a trained veterinarian, do not require any at-home treatment to be administered and are well tolerated by the majority of patients.  It can take up to 3 or 4 sessions to see a significant improvement, especially if it is a chronic issue.  When first starting, I recommend 3 to 6 sessions in 2-4 weeks  and maintenance treatments as needed; for many on-going cases, maintenance visits may occur anywhere from once a quarter to once a week, depending on the patient.   The first session is usually about an hour where we will define treatment goals and objective ways to monitor for progress.  Each session ranges from 15-40 minutes, depending on whether we are doing acupuncture, VSMT, or both, how many needles are placed and each pet’s response to the treatment.  With acupuncture, I typically leave needles in for 10-15 minutes and have the owner sit with their pet and then we remove the needles after the allotted time.  Many animals will nod off or get cozy, though they are free to walk and move, if they desire. 

I hope that, if nothing else, you now feel more comfortable with the idea of holistic, alternative veterinary medicine  and will reach out if you’d like to explore how these services can help your pet live their best life and age as gracefully as possible. 

Please contact BLVD Vet Logan Square if you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment.

Sincerely,

Dr. Veronica Cruz