Conventional Medicine

Conventional "western" medicine includes the prevention and treatment of disease using a wide variety of diagnostic tests and medical treatments. Advances in radiology, laboratory testing, pharmaceutical medications and vaccinations, surgery and dentistry have allowed the quality of modern medicine to climb to an extremely high standard of care. The development of conventional medicine over the past century has been phenomenal. The surgical expertise and the understanding of physiological processes in medicine today have reached unprecedented heights. However, as broad as the scope of western medical knowledge is, there are many injuries and disease processes that cannot be effectively treated or reversed using the tools available to a conventional medical practitioner. Typically, in order for conventional medicine to be useful, the disease process must be fairly advanced for a diagnosis to be made.

Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine involves the prevention and treatment of disease using alternative modalities. A partial listing of alternative modalities include, chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, basic and therapeutic nutrition, massage and other physical therapies, laser and magnetic therapy, and environmental medicine. Generally speaking, the alternative approaches involve various means of stimulating the movement of energy and blood in the body, thereby inducing strong self-healing properties. The diagnostic tools of alternative medicine allow for the detection and correction of energy imbalances long before they manifest as a disease entity. Most of the alternative modalities are much less invasive than conventional medical treatments, and there are usually far fewer side effects and contraindications. Often the cost of alternative treatment is much lower than the cost of conventional treatment.

Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine involves using a combination of conventional and alternative modes of therapy. Some medical problems are better suited to treatment using the ancient arts of medicine, like acupuncture and herbal treatments. Some medical problems are better suited to conventional medical or surgical approaches. Some problems are best treated using a combination of the conventional and alternative treatments. Integrating alternative therapies into a conventional veterinary practice allows a veterinarian to offer a greater variety of medical choices to treat problems seen in medical practice today. It allows optimal clinical results to be achieved with minimal side effects to the patient, often at a lower monetary cost to the client. Combining traditional and alternative treatments gives a patient the best opportunity to heal completely and to return to normal function.