North Durham Veterinary Acupuncture Services

04/17/2026

Charlie has a bad back. In Chinese medicine, intervertebral disc disease is related to the Kidney system, but he also has a few other things going on. Most cases are not as straight forward as that. When he first came to me, he couldn't walk straight, fell sideways in his hind end, was painful, and had great difficulty posturing to p**p or p*e. Today he can walk an almost straight line, has no identifiable pain, and loves his acupuncture visits. Charlie is a very good boy.

03/27/2026

03/26/2026

The next of the Five Elements we come to is Fire. Fire is hot and very busy, and also nosy. The main Fire organs are the Heart and Small Intestine, but Fire has two secondary organs, the Pericardium and the Triple Heater (also called San Jiao). Fire is responsible for the blood vessels and circulation, but also the sweat . It opens into the tongue and manifests on the face. It houses the spirit mind, called Shen. The flavour associated with the Fire element is bitter, and the sound is laughing. Fire is joyful, passionate, and social. Fire is associated with sp*ech, and Fire is very verbal. When the Fire element is out of balance, it can cause anxiety or irrational fear. Common diseases involving the Fire element include heart disease, high blood pressure, sp*ech impediments, seizures, and insomnia. The Fire time of year is Summer, and the Fire time of day is 11 am to 1 pm for Heart and 1 pm to 3 pm for Small Intestine.

02/26/2026

The first of the Five Elements we'll cover is Wood. Wood is strong, has deep roots, but is not completely rigid. Wood organs are the Liver and Gall Bladder. It stores Blood and Qi. It opens into the eyes and manifests in the nails and hooves. It rules the tendons and ligaments. The flavour associated with the Wood element is sour, and the sound is SHhhhhh. Wood is strong, confident, a good leader, and a planner. Wood is associated with vision, both physically as in the sense of sight, but also with concepts and ideas. When the Wood element is out of balance, it can cause anger or frustration. Common diseases involving the Wood element include hypertension, gall stones, weak or damaged tendons and ligaments, such as cruciate tears in dogs, and glaucoma and other eye disorders. The Wood time of year is Spring, and the Wood time of day is from 11 pm to 1 am for the Gall Bladder and 1 am to 3 am for the Liver.
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02/19/2026

There are five elements in TCVM. Each one represents an organ system. They interact in predictable ways to support or control each other in an interdependent system. The body and mind are healthy when the systems are in balance.

02/14/2026

Love crosses all boundaries. Happy Valentine's Day!

02/12/2026

Chinese medicine believes the body is a microcosm of the Universe and the environment in which we live. The Five Element theory uses the nature of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water and the way that they interact with each other as an analogy to explain bodily function and imbalance or disease. Over the next few weeks, each Thursday I'll dive deeper into Five Element Theory and how it is used to help diagnose and treat our 4 legged friends.