Moxibustion

Moxibustion is a non-intravenous natural healing technique used in traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine. This method is also used in Japan by practitioners specialising in natural healing.

Indirect moxibustion is bring practised on animal companions at Petopia. It involves burning dried leaves (Mugwort – Artemesia vulgaris or Loquat Leat – Folium eriobotryae) in a special pipe and placing them over identified meridian points of an animal’s body. Depending on the condition requiring treatment, different sets of meridian points are ’stimulated’ to bring forth a desired therapeutic effect.

In the traditional Chinese system of healing, the concept of sickness (or various other conditions) being caused by stagnant “Qi” at certain meridian points has been the guiding principle for thousands of years. Sustained moxibustion sessions unblock “Qi” congestions and restores a balanced energy flow throughout the whole body system. This is achieved by allowing radiant heat from the thermal application of moxibustion to penetrate deeply into specific meridian points of the subject’s body, thereby eliciting a physiologically healing response.

Specifically, the treatment contributes toward pain relief (arising from inflamed tissues), stiff joints and ligaments, skin disorders (atopic dermatitis) and hernia.

Another important therapeutic effect is a gradual but steady strengthening of the immune system. Painless and without side effects, both adult and senior companions can benefit from this gentle yet effective healing modality.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy refers to the therapeutic manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. Most dogs, like humans, enjoy a massage when it is done with skilled hands and a good understanding of their anatomy.

The benefits are manifold:-

• Improve circulation
• Relax muscle spasms and relieve tension
• Expedite healing of general injuries and prevents formation of adhesions
• Enhance muscle tone
• Alleviate tissue stiffness and restores or increases range of motion
• Remove toxins and metabolic waste
• Reduce pain and discomfort caused by arthritis, hip dysplasia etc
• Prevent development of post operative compensatory tension
• Enhance the health and nourishment of the skin.
• Strengthen the immune system and promote general well-being
• Foster faster healing
• Assist in addressing the root of companion’s phobia with the aim of achieving behavioural conditioning.

Injury & Post-Operative Support

Regular massage therapy can benefit your dog during recovery from surgery or injury. Consult with your veterinarian prior to beginning a massge therapy program to ensure that it is appropriate for your dog.

Massage therapy can reduce pain and tension resulting from hip dysplasia, luxating patella and OCD.

Post operatively, massage therapy will prevent muscle tension from developing in other muscle of the body due to compensation, and will relax and provide comfort to your dog by freeing them from unnatural holding patterns. It also speeds the healing process.

Older Dogs

Dogs in their golden years benefit greatly from massage therapy. Arthritis and rheumatism are common in geriatric dogs. While massage therapy cannot cure these conditions, it is highly effective in reducing the resulting pain and muscle tension, and is helpful towards retarding the degenerative process.

Canine Senior Citizen Massage (CSC)

Senior dogs need massaging to wake up their sleepy muscles, and many of them require special care for arthritis and hip dysplasia. In addition to relaxing massage techniques, some special techniques which our furbies might find comforting, such as gentle stretching and exercises to strengthen the muscles which affect your dogs’s vision, are applied. Calming canine aromatherapy options* are also available.

*You can add aromatherapy to any hydrobath, microbubble bath or massage session. Our aromatherapy products include the highest grade quality organic and therapeutic grade essential oils and hydrosols. Special blends for addressing different problems are available.

Congenital Constraints

Breeds like the Welsh Corgi or Dachshund sufferfrom spinal, muslce and joint stress due to their long bodies and short legs. Such stress may lead to joint or spinal misalignment.

Other breeds like the Golden Retriever or the Great Dane experience rapid growth spurts. Unchecked activity levels can bring about hip dysplasia and other joint or muscle injuries, eventually reducing flexibility and even bring about immobility. Massage therapy conditions muscles and ligaments around vulnerable areas so as to aid growth without injuries and malformation.

Behavioral Conditioning

Timid animals or those deep-seated fears start to bond and develop trust, with introverts becoming energetic while nervous or edgy ones become calmer.

General Well-Being Massage

Massage therapy helps to identify and treat “unseen” health or physical problems before they progress to chronic stages. Your companions’ immune systems will strengthen with regular massage and become less susceptible to common viruses or ailments. Above all, massage can help develop and strengthen owner-companion bonds as nothing beats the wonders of touch.

General Well-Being Massage sessions cover general techniques, focusing on overall wellness enhancement and stress reduction. Calming canine aromatherapy option* is available.

*You can add aromatherapy to any hydrobath, microbubble bath or massage session. Our aromatherapy products include the highest grade quality organic and therapeutic grade essential oils and hydrosols. Special blends for addressing different problems are available.

Contraindications

Despite the benefits massage therapy brings, there are occasions where massage can hurt more than it heals. Massage should not be administered should the following conditions be observed:-

Infectious diseases

Companions with infectious conditions like dermatophytosis (fungal), malassezia (ringworm), herpes, pneumonia are not to receive massage therapy.

Post-operative support

While general massage accelerates the healing process, incision sites are to be avoided for at least 3 weeks.

Fever (above 39°C)

Refrain from giving massage to companions running a temperature beyond 39°C. A fever indicates that the body is in the midst of fighting an infection. Massage brings about further temperature increase due to heightened metabolism and increased blood circulation.

Concussion or shock

Massaging futher lowers a companion’s blood pressure, which is dangerous and may result in cardiac arrests.

Others

• Severe arthritis and rheumatism
• Serious nerve/musculo conditions caused by injury
• Companions suffering from functional nervous diseases

Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing

Petopia is proud to be the first pet establishment in Southeast Asia to introduce Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing, a refreshing way to help animal companions revitalize, rejuvenate and recover naturally with oxygen!

Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing (HOH) at Petopia aims to help animal companions cope with the effects of ageing, illnesses, injury or overexertion.

An absolute key component of optimal physical and mental health is the ready access to sufficient oxygen.

“Hyper”, which means increased and “baric”, which relates to pressure, refers to treatment with pure oxygen at greater than normal atmospheric pressures.

In HOH, the animal companion is placed in a large transparent chamber that supplies a pressurized flow of pure oxygen 1.5 times that of atmospheric oxygen level, affording the companion more oxygen in the bloodstream, speeding up recovery processes.

The treatment works on the principle that high oxygen concentration, combined with increased air pressure in the chamber, raises plasma-oxygen concentration, allowing oxygen to diffuse into tissues at depths much further than usual to promote healing.

Inside the chamber, the animal companion rests comfortably on a soft surface while the oxygen works on the body, wounds, swellings, burns, other injuries or illnesses.

Each treatment session is about 30 minutes. Frequent and regular sessions facilitate a speedy recovery.

Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing:

• Shortens recovery time after rigorous activity, exercise, injury or surgery
• Revitalizes by improving blood flow and oxygen to all organs
• Regenerates small blood vessels (capillaries), nerves and bones
• Rejuvenates by releasing stem cells from bone marrow for tissue repair
• Reduces pain, swelling, tingling, cramps, numbness
• Suppresses inflammation

Breathing increased levels of oxygen under pressure inside a hyperbaric chamber is used to initiate healing responses in a natural way without side effects.

• improved performance
• increased strength
• enhanced muscle endurance
• energy boost preventing exhaustion
• reducing inflammation, swelling, pain
• reducing fatigue and recovery time
• speeding up healing of muscles, ligaments and fractured bones
• reducing and preventing infection
• reducing scar tissue formation
• cleansing blood from toxins and toxic substances
• maintaining general health and strengthening immune system
• arresting the progress of many acute and chronic problems

Efficacies of Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing

Stress relief*

Dissolved oxygen is a form of pure oxygen which is readily delivered to every cell of the body. It neutralizes active oxygen which causes ageing. Moreover, it enhances cell metabolism and brings about an energised state from fatigue.

Reduce Inflammation, swelling and pain#

Hyperbaric oxygen helps reduce swelling and pain in the acute stages of injury and it dramatically hastens fracture healing. Using hyperbaric oxygen to treat injuries will dramatically hasten the recovery process (50% to 70% faster than without HOH).

Reduces fatigue*

Listlessness or fatigue is generally caused by an accumulation of lactic acid. A sufficient supply of oxygen decomposes and eliminates lactic acid from the body.

Rejuvenation*

A 30 minute session is equivalent to a 2 hour aerobic exercise, by enhancing metabolism and fat-burning.

Treatment of Skin Infection / Recovery of wounds ^

Wounds without adequate tissue oxygen levels will not heal. In most diseases or injuries, blood flow to the diseased tissue is compromised, which in turn decreases the amount of oxygen available for tissue healing.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is able to increase tissue oxygen levels in diseased or injured tissue, thereby speeding up healing.

* especially beneficial for senior animal companions

^ especially beneficial for festering wounds from fights or self-inflicted wounds

# especially beneficial for animals companions suffering from hip dysplasia, spinal injuries, laxating patella etc

Ailments that can be treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen Healing:

• Wounds and burns
• A broad spectrum of skin infections
• Post operative skin flaps
• Post operative swelling and pain
• Fractures and scars that are not healing well