Seminars exclusively for veterinary and medical practitioners providing a detailed and practical approach to understanding acupuncture from a physiological basis and from the traditional perspective. They are designed to begin with the basics and build an early confidence in integrating acupuncture into daily practice. Participants are free to choose the modern Western or traditional Chinese approach or learn from both.
Provide an exciting study of acupuncture that brings the practicioner in touch with the fundamental basics of medicine: anatomy and physiology. You will discover an enhanced and holistic perspective to understanding health and disease. Your earlier anatomy and physiology studies will be refreshed and become more valuable and interesting – both in the application of acupuncture and in practice generally.
Dietrich Graf von Schweinitz BSc DVM MRCVS Cert Vet Acupuncture (IVAS)
Founder and principal of the Southern Hills Equine Veterinary Clinic, integrating acupuncture with general equine practice. Focus on chronic pain and poor performance. Clinical research in thermographic studies of autonomic responses to acupuncture; and electromyographic studies of myofascial trigger points in horses.
President, Association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists (2001-2004);
Board of Directors, International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (2004 -), served on Education Committee
Ever since my acupuncture interest began 20 years ago I have found it difficult to source consistently credible and useful acupuncture training. The preponderance of energy medicine in the West's translations of Chinese acupuncture theories and the non-medical colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine have led to acupuncture teachings that are neither medically sensible or consistent with the original concepts. The commonly used jargon referring to Qi as Energy flowing through a system of non-existent Meridians forms the central basis for the Energetics schools derived from translations of Solie de Morant. After meeting Deke Kendall, author of Dao of Chinese Medicine, and Claus Schnorrenberger, author of Chen-Chiu The Original Acupuncture, I learned that Chinese Medicine was not about "energy in meridians"; it's based on their observations that the most fundamentally important aspect to health is the normal circulation of air, nutrients, blood, and defensive substances in the vessels.
The significance is that no longer is it necessary to learn a medically incompetent belief system to understand the traditional concepts; moreover, one can utilize many of the traditional concepts to enhance the practice of acupuncture by drawing on the centuries of experience by the Chinese.
It is also clear that a Western medical approach to acupuncture with little regard to traditional concepts can be employed for many medical problems, esp. for pain. The trick is to learn the anatomy and neurophysiology of acupuncture and pain mechanisms in a way that won't involve an information overload and a sleep induction! Alex Macdonald has conducted research and published numerous papers over the past 30 years; and along with his clinical practice experience describes the significant aspects of the physiology in an interesting way. Dietrich von Schweinitz found his thermographic studies of acupuncture responses in the horse graphically illustrate the somato-visceral reflexes of acupuncture. This facilitates using the knowledge of the autonomic nervous system to understand acupuncture applications.
Director Dr Dietrich Graf von Schweinitz