ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240015
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
YOU THINK NEEDLES ARE on the fringe of alternative medicine? Don't tell Dr. Martha Moses, who has found acupuncture useful where Western medicine failed.
Gail Poff flinched and backed away when she caught sight of the 2-inch acupuncture needles.
"Mommy's got to go. She can't stand needles very well," she called to Lady, her mixed thoroughbred-quarter horse. "Now, if they hurt you, you have my permission to kick the snot out of them."
Poff retreated across the field and settled down on a stool to watch the proceedings from a distance. Her daughter-in-law, Shana Franklin, stayed behind to hold Lady's halter.
Dr. Martha Moses smiled as she continued with the treatment, gently pressing small plastic tubes against the horse's flesh, then tapping the ends to insert flexible, hair-like needles. Lady's black coat quivered occasionally, and she shuffled her feet, but she didn't seem inclined to take her owner's advice as Moses glided back and forth until the tips of a dozen needles protruded along the horse's neck, back and legs.
"They say anyone over 40 should stimulate this point at least once a week," Moses said as she popped a needle at the base of the neck.
Lady certainly qualifies. Her 23 years make her the equivalent in age of a 161-year-old woman. When the horse became stiff and mopey a few weeks ago, Poff agreed to try acupuncture.
"I'd seen it on TV, but I didn't know anybody did it on animals," she said. "But I know how it is to be old and have pains, and anything that helps, I'm willing to try."
Moses is apparently the only veterinarian practicing acupuncture in most of her service area, which covers Roanoke, Bedford, Franklin, Botetourt and parts of Craig counties. Although the treatment is new to most, she has a serene demeanor that tends to reassure both her human and nonhuman clients.
Raised on a farm in Natural Bridge, Moses has been interested in veterinary science since she was a child. She didn't consider incorporating acupuncture until her senior year at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, when she completed an externship with an Ashland equine veterinarian whose practice was 70 percent acupuncture and chiropractics.
Moses also was interested in specializing in horses, and it became clear that horse owners were beginning to demand acupuncture treatment as a means to relieve lameness and chronic back problems that don't always respond well to Western medicine.
Even so, she was surprised at the number of horse veterinarians she met when she began attending acupuncture training sessions in Houston last fall.
"I thought it would be all Birkenstocks, and it wasn't," she said.
The training, provided by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, is split into four five-day sessions spread over nearly a year. To become certified, participants must complete classwork and learn to locate hundreds of acupressure points on live animals.
Moses attended the training with another regional practitioner, Dr. Nellie Bierly, a small-animal veterinarian based in Lexington.
Bierly said she had both a personal and professional motivation for taking the course. Her Australian shepherd, Jack, was in so much pain from a combination of hip dysplasia and back problems that she had resorted to acupuncture. She noticed the difference after a single treatment.
"That evening, my dog jumped in the back of the truck," she said. "He hadn't done that in a long time. I figured I had to learn how to do it just to keep my dog going."
Bierly, who practices at the Blue Ridge Animal Clinic in Lexington, and Moses have passed their exams and will be certified in October.
Although acupuncture has been around for more than 3,500 years, most Americans view it as rather mysterious. It's based on the ancient Chinese concept that there are 12 channels of energy in the body. Where those channels come close to the surface of the skin, pressure or a pin is used to stimulate energy when it is believed to have built up or become blocked, Moses said.
According to legend, horses have been associated with acupuncture from its start. Chinese warriors are said to have intentionally cut their horses before battle after they discovered that animals made lame during fighting sometimes revived after sustaining other wounds on their bodies.
Treatment for both human beings and animals is more humane today. The most common method is the use of 2-to 3-inch needles, which are inserted into acupuncture points for 15 to 30 minutes. Treatment ends when the needles fall out on their own, indicating that the muscles have relaxed.
Contrary to popular belief, patients being treated can generally feel the needle being inserted. However, rather than a sharp pain, the sensation is typically a combination of tingling and pressure, sometimes accompanied by a dull ache. Acupuncture also can cause bleeding, and sometimes specific treatments call for intentionally bleeding an animal, Moses said.
The treatment is most commonly used for musculoskelatal problems such as lameness, as well as for respiratory problems and arthritis. It often serves as an alternative to steroids, aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs, all of which can have side effects not associated with acupuncture. Steroids, for example, can damage the liver and induce diabetes, Moses said, while aspirin can cause stomach ulcers.
"Pretty much anywhere you'd use Western medicine, you can incorporate acupuncture," Moses said. "A lot of times, with chronic problems, you don't see immediate results. With acupuncture, what you're doing is treating the animal from the inside. You get better, longer-lasting results with it."
"It's really good for cases that kind of hit a wall, that aren't getting anywhere," Bierly agreed. "Most things will respond to acupuncture. Sometimes it's miraculous, and sometimes it's vague."
She recounted one instance of the miraculous sort that involved a basset hound puppy whose chest had been crushed in an attack by a pit bull. Four veterinarians at her practice were working feverishly on the animal, but the dog was dying.
"I had two needles with me," she said. "Literally before our eyes, that dog started breathing better and his color pinked up. We all went, 'Whoa!'''
Both women said they use acupuncture as one tool along with traditional Western medical care. They estimate 10 percent to 15 percent of their practices involve acupuncture. They also stress that acupuncture is not a cure-all. In fact, it should never be used to treat cancers - it tends to stimulate tumor growth.
The cost for an acupuncture treatment runs upward of $45, Moses said. Mileage fees for farm visits and office time can sometimes double that figure, and Moses generally recommends three or four treatments.
Moses and Bierly plan to establish a referral service in Roanoke once they're fully certified next month. One local veterinarian said the technique is a needed alternative in the area.
"I think Western medicine has some limitations and Eastern medicine has limits, but if you've got both, you can select the best methods," said Dr. M.R. Finkler of Roanoke.
As the service becomes more common in the area, Moses expects demand to increase for both animal and human treatment. She said many clients ask about their own ailments when they see results in their pets. Since veterinarians are not allowed to treat human beings, she refers them to Roanoke acupuncturist William Weddle.
Even Poff, Lady's owner, got over her squeamishness after watching her horse stand placidly, clearly unconcerned about the needles that lined her back. After a few minutes, Poff wandered closer, bringing a handful of carrots, an apple and an oatmeal cream pie for the patient.
"I'd give anything to have one in my hip right now," she said, staring at the needles in fascination.
Ten minutes later, the last needle dropped out and was retrieved by Moses for disposal. Lady trotted over to the stable to beg for the release of Bandit, an Appaloosa that had been pent up during the vet's visit. With her companion freed, Lady set off across the field, her ears perked, as a school bus passed by with children's faces pressed against each window pane.
"She looks good. She looks comfortable," Moses said as she watched the horse canter away. "That's what you want to see."
LENGTH: Long : 142 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Dr. Martha Moses performs acupunctureby CNB(above) on Lady, a 23-year-old thoroughbred-quarter horse. Moses
(below) inserts a Moxa heat roll into Lady to apply deep heat to her
muscles. color.