Acupuncture for Camels?
It's true that camels get acupuncture. Newsweek of December 20, 2004 featured an article, "Animal Acupuncture," which described how dogs, horses, and even "Jewel, an arthritic camel at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo" received acupuncture treatment for their aches and pains. Jewel, it seemed, was "running for the first time in years."
I once attended a seminar with a noted California acupuncturist who said that she entered the field after seeing her dog miraculously rebound from serious illness after treatment. Who could possibly say the dog's recovery was simply a placebo effect? The dog was in no position to tell anyone.
I've been asked by patients whether the relief we've obtained for their conditions was "a placebo." I am always at a loss. I'd like to say the good result was due to treatment, but perhaps it was not. The patient might have gotten better on his or her own. Correlation, as they say in statistics, is not causality.
A positive outcome in treatment could actually be due to the placebo effect. But when an arthritic camel can run again after acupuncture treatment, you can't simply say, "It's just in that dromedary's mind!"
Only doctors of veterinary medicine who are certified in acupuncture may practice acupuncture on animals. One website reported in 2005 that there are now more than 500 such practitioners in North America, with patients ranging "from equine to feline to canine and avian."
The Newsweek article describes a 200-pound St. Bernard, "too old for surgery," who was carried into an office unable to walk, and who walked in on all fours after a year's treatment. If either the camel or dog could talk, perhaps we'd get a straight answer.
Copyright 2007 Mid-Hudson Acupuncture
