Integrated Veterinary Medicine

Integrated medicine is the blending of traditional western medicine with the ancient arts of eastern medicine.

Examples of western diagnostics may include blood work, radiography, endoscopy, and ultrasound.  Western treatments may include antibiotics, drug therapy, and surgery.

There are an expansive array of eastern diagnostics, ranging from kinesiology (muscle testing), hair analysis, hormone evaluations, allergy testing, and emotional balancing.

A western approach involves linear thinking, and often isolates the symptom, failing to evaluate the body as a whole.  Doctors specialize in one body system (eyes, skin, ear nose throat, heart, liver, kidney etc) and more often than not there are breakdowns in the communication between physicians leading to incongruent health care.  Symptoms may be addressed with drugs but  often the underlying problem that led to that symptom goes undiagnosed and untreated.  For example, the western approach to a headache is to take an aspirin.  The headache may resolve, but what caused the headache is not addressed. Nor is the side effects of the aspirin considered (liver problems and stomach ulcers to name a few).

The eastern approach to health is circular, everything is interrelated and impacts one another.  The eastern thinking practitioner looks at the total picture and the balance (or imbalance) involved (yin/yang).  The symptom is the body talking and the eastern practitioner listens.  Ignoring or suppressing symptoms will result in stronger “language” (worse disease).  Eastern practitioners take in the total picture, from nutrition, digestion, assimilation, elimination, mind, body, spirit, and body balance.  Everything is considered as it relates to the problem and the solution.

I try to avoid a shot-gun approach or a 1 treatment fits all concept.  I use many modalities when evaluating and treating a patient and tailor the therapy to that individuals needs. Chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, intrinsic energy chips, chinese herbs, homotoxicology, therapeutic laser, essential oils, Bach flowers, and nutraceutical’s are among the tools I incorporate.

Dr Marlene Siegel