Because healing doesn't have to come from just one system of medicine.
At The Animal Doctors of Orange County, we believe the best care for your pet often comes from combining more than one approach (this practice is called Multimodal). Integrative veterinary medicine means using complementary therapies — like acupuncture, cold laser therapy, and chiropractic care — alongside conventional, evidence-based veterinary medicine, rather than choosing one system over the other. The goal is always the same: giving your pet the most effective, most comfortable path to healing.
Our integrative medicine services are available to dogs and cats at our Buena Park, Anaheim, and Mission Viejo locations, and are always provided as part of a coordinated plan with your pet's regular veterinary care — never as a replacement for it.
What Is Integrative Veterinary Medicine?
Combining the Best of Both Worlds
Integrative veterinary medicine describes the combination of complementary and alternative therapies with conventional care, guided by the best available evidence. It is not an alternative to modern veterinary medicine — it's an addition to it. The American Veterinary Medical Association holds all integrative and complementary therapies to the same standard as conventional treatment: diagnosis and treatment should be based on sound, accepted principles of veterinary medicine and the judgment of a licensed veterinarian.
In practice, this means a pet recovering from surgery might receive cold laser therapy to speed healing, a senior dog with arthritis might benefit from a combination of pain medication and acupuncture, or a cat with a chronic condition might do best with a Western diagnosis paired with an Eastern-medicine approach to long-term management.
Western Medicine vs. Eastern Medicine: Two Philosophies, One Goal
Different Approaches, Working Together
Western veterinary medicine is grounded in modern diagnostics, pharmacology, and surgery — using bloodwork, imaging, and lab testing to identify a specific disease-causing problem and treat it directly. It is exceptionally effective for acute conditions: a broken bone, an infection, a surgical emergency.
Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) takes a different view, treating the body as an interconnected system where disease reflects an underlying imbalance, rather than a single isolated cause. Instead of a lab-confirmed diagnosis, TCVM practitioners look for patterns of imbalance across the whole patient, and aim to restore balance through acupuncture, herbal medicine, and other modalities.
Western medicine tends to be most effective for acute, well-defined disease, while Eastern approaches often provide meaningful benefit for chronic conditions that Western medicine can only partially manage on its own. Neither system has all the answers on its own — which is exactly why we practice both, together, rather than picking one.
Types of Integrative Medicine We Offer
A Well-Rounded Approach to Comfort and Healing
At The Animal Doctors of Orange County, our integrative medicine offerings include:
- Acupuncture
- Cold laser therapy (photobiomodulation)
- Chiropractic care
- Herbal and nutraceutical support, including Omega Fatty Acids, Yunnan Baiyao and milk thistle
Each of these therapies can be used on its own, but they're most powerful when layered into a broader treatment plan built around your pet's individual needs.
Acupuncture for Dogs & Cats
An Ancient Technique With a Growing Body of Evidence
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain and support healing. It's recognized as a legitimate therapeutic option by the AVMA, and the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS) has been setting the global training standard for veterinary acupuncture since 1974. There are now more than 10,000 references to acupuncture in the U.S. National Library of Medicine's PubMed database.
Acupuncture triggers the release of the body's own endorphins and other natural pain-regulating chemicals, and can improve blood flow to reduce inflammation. We commonly use it to support pets with:
- Chronic pain and arthritis
- Nerve damage or mobility issues
- Nausea and digestive upset
- Recovery from injury or surgery
Acupuncture is performed only by trained members of our veterinary team, and is always used alongside — never in place of — a full veterinary diagnosis.
Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs & Cats
Light-Based Healing for Pain, Inflammation & Recovery
Cold laser therapy, also called low-level laser therapy (LLLT), uses targeted light energy — rather than heat — to stimulate cells and encourage them to repair and function more efficiently, a process called photobiomodulation. It's completely painless, requires no sedation, and has no recovery time.
We use cold laser therapy to help:
- Manage chronic pain from arthritis and injuries
- Speed healing after surgery or wounds
- Reduce inflammation and swelling
- Improve mobility, especially in senior pets
One important safety note: photobiomodulation can potentially stimulate tumor growth, so laser therapy is not used on pets who have cancer or are suspected of having it — our veterinary team always screens for this before recommending treatment.
Chiropractic Care for Dogs & Cats
Supporting the Nervous System, Naturally
Animal chiropractic is a drug-free approach that focuses on the health of the spine and nervous system, which in turn affects the musculoskeletal system and overall body function. Many pets show improved gait and reduced discomfort within minutes of an adjustment.
Chiropractic care can be especially helpful for pets with:
- Back or neck discomfort
- Gait abnormalities or uneven movement
- Recovery from injury
- General mobility and performance support in active or working dogs
Just as in human chiropractic care, animal chiropractic does not replace necessary veterinary diagnosis, medication, or surgery — it works alongside them. We recommend chiropractic care only after a full veterinary exam has ruled out conditions that require a different approach.
Herbal & Nutraceutical Support
Time-Tested Remedies, Used Thoughtfully
Traditional Chinese Medicine also includes a long history of herbal formulas, and a few have earned a well-documented place in modern veterinary oncology and general wellness care.
Yunnan Baiyao
Yunnan Baiyao is a Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formula best known for its hemostatic properties — meaning it helps control and slow bleeding. Its primary active herb, sanqi (Panax notoginseng), is believed to help activate platelets and slow bleeding without causing the blood to clot excessively. This makes it particularly useful for dogs with bleeding tumors, such as hemangiosarcoma affecting the spleen, liver, or heart — a condition where uncontrolled internal bleeding is a serious risk.
Yunnan Baiyao is generally well tolerated, with mild gastrointestinal upset (such as vomiting or diarrhea) being the most commonly reported side effect. As with any supplement, we only recommend it under veterinary guidance and monitoring, as part of a full treatment plan.
Milk Thistle (Silymarin)
Milk thistle, and its active compound silymarin, is one of the most studied herbal supplements in veterinary liver support. Evidence suggests it may help protect liver cells from damage and support recovery in cases of acute and chronic liver disease, and it has documented protective benefit in specific toxic liver conditions, including certain mushroom toxicities.
It's important to set realistic expectations: milk thistle has real supportive evidence, but it is not a cure — it can support liver function, but it cannot reverse advanced liver disease on its own. Cats are also more sensitive to supplements in general, so we always recommend proper veterinary dosing rather than over-the-counter guessing.
Other Integrative Modalities Worth Knowing About
The Wider World of Integrative Veterinary Medicine
Integrative veterinary medicine is a growing field, and not every modality within it is something every practice offers. In the interest of helping you understand the full picture, a few other options you may come across include:
- Physical rehabilitation & hydrotherapy — targeted exercise and underwater treadmill work to rebuild strength and mobility after injury or surgery
- Therapeutic massage — manual techniques to relieve muscle tension and support circulation
- Broader herbal (TCVM) formulas — beyond Yunnan Baiyao, many other traditional herbal blends are used for a range of chronic conditions
- Joint nutraceuticals — supplements like glucosamine, chondroitin, and omega-3 fatty acids to support joint and skin health
- Homeopathy — a more controversial modality within integrative medicine, with limited scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness
We're always happy to talk through where a given therapy fits — and whether it's something we can help coordinate — at your pet's next visit.
Why Choose Integrative Medicine for Your Pet?
The Best of Conventional and Complementary Care, Together
Research comparing integrative treatment (Western and Traditional Chinese medicine combined) to conventional treatment alone has shown integrative approaches can produce better therapeutic outcomes for a range of conditions. For pet owners, that can mean:
- More treatment options for chronic and hard-to-manage conditions
- Reduced reliance on medication alone for pain management
- Faster recovery after surgery or injury
- A more comfortable quality of life, especially for senior pets
Every integrative therapy we offer is provided by trained members of our veterinary team, and always as part of a coordinated plan with your pet's primary veterinary care — never as a stand-alone substitute for it.
Serving Dogs & Cats Throughout Orange County
Integrative Veterinary Medicine Near You
The Animal Doctors of Orange County proudly provides acupuncture, cold laser therapy, chiropractic care, and herbal and nutraceutical support for families throughout Buena Park, Anaheim, Mission Viejo, and surrounding communities including Fullerton, Cypress, La Palma, Garden Grove, Orange, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, and Aliso Viejo.
| The Animal Doctors of Anaheim | The Animal Doctors of Buena Park | The Animal Doctors of Mission Viejo |
| Serving Anaheim, Orange, Fullerton and Garden Grove | Serving Buena Park, La Palma, Cypress, and Cerritos | Serving Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, and Aliso Viejo |
| (714) 535-1141 | (714) 521-4595 | (949) 472-3555 |
Because sometimes the best path to healing draws from more than one tradition.
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