Acupuntura na Medicina Veterinária em pequenos animais: Revisão bibliográfica

Abstract

Acupuncture is a Traditional Chinese Medicine therapy that uses specific points throughout the body, called acupoints, to insert needles and/or transfer heat to defined areas of the skin. This, through nerve stimulation, triggers responses in other areas of the body with a cascade of local, regional or systemic physiological effects, with the purpose of correcting possible energy imbalances responsible for causing diseases and/or pain. In veterinary medicine, there are 32 simple points and 40 bilateral points that are most commonly used in small animals. The points can be stimulated through various techniques in addition to traditional acupuncture, such as moxibustion, acuinjection, electroacupuncture, among others. The most commonly used techniques are used to control pain, and may also have significant effects in the treatment or adjuvant therapy in animals with neurological dysfunctions and/or sequelae, musculoskeletal dysfunctions or even behavioral disorders such as anxiety, aggression and fear in small animals. Acupuncture has been shown to be a safe, effective therapy with no side effects. Therefore, this study performs a literature review with the aim of elucidating the techniques and uses of acupuncture in small animals within veterinary medicine, emphasizing numerous benefits as an adjuvant treatment in various pathologies within the clinical routine.