What is acupuncture?   

             The use of acupuncture has been accepted and used in practice for thousands of years in China. The use
             of acupuncture in Western society has been increasing for decades and companion animals. In 1996, the
             American Veterinary Medical Association stated that, "Veterinary acupuncture involves the examination and
             stimulation of specific points on the body of nonhuman animals by the use of acuuncture needles, moxibustion,
             injections, low-level lasers, magnets, and a variety of other techniques for the diagnosis and
             treatment of numerous conditions in animals."

             Acupuncture involves the stimulation of specific points on the body which improves the energy flow of the body,
             the body's Qi. Qi is the energy that controls harmony in any living body. It is the "vital force" or "life energy"
             that activates and maintains the life process. This energy is derived from our environment through such
             processes as nutrition and respiration. Disease is an imbalance of the body's Qi. 

             After thousands of years of practical use and numerous scientific investigations, we still find it difficult to 
             answer the simple question of "What are acupoints?". In most studies, the investigators have the following: 
             high densities of nerve trunks, neural transmitters, orvascular networks in the subcutaneous tissues at or near
             the site of the acupoints. These points are found predominantly in depressions located along the cleavage 
             between muscles, tendons, or bones. These acupoints communicate with the Zang-Fu organs by way of the 
             meridian system. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, meridians ae percieved as a complex network of major channels
             flowing through the body Qi, the body's life energy, flows through these channels. By manipulating the acupoints, 
             we manipulate the body's Qi.