Food Therapy and Tui-na to Treat Liver Qi Stagnation in A Wood Constitution Horse with Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) and Arthritis
Authors: Villarroel Aurora
Journal: American Journal of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine
Summary
# Editorial Summary This case report describes a 30-year-old mare of Wood constitution presenting with Liver Qi Stagnation—a syndrome in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) theory characterised by generalised weakness, lumbosacral pain, and behavioural reactivity—which developed secondary to escalating conventional medication for PPID, arthritis and chronic laminitis. When acupuncture became contraindicated due to the mare's aggressive response and she rejected Chinese herbal medicine, the clinician instead employed Tui-na (therapeutic massage of acupoints and meridians) combined with targeted food therapy based on TCVM constitutional principles. Over the course of treatment, this approach enabled complete withdrawal of all conventional medications whilst maintaining acceptable quality of life, with PPID control verified through seasonal-adjusted plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) monitoring. For equine professionals managing older animals with polypharmacy regimens, this case illustrates an important limitation of acupuncture-focused TCVM practice and highlights that food therapy and Tui-na represent viable alternatives when conventional treatments create iatrogenic imbalance or are poorly tolerated. Whilst this remains a single case observation rather than controlled evidence, it raises questions about whether individualised TCVM modalities might offer complementary or alternative pathways for managing complex endocrine and musculoskeletal disease, particularly in geriatric populations where minimising pharmacological burden is clinically desirable.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Horses on long-term drug regimens for chronic conditions may develop adverse reactions; consider complementary therapies like Tui-na and food therapy if conventional treatments become poorly tolerated.
- •TCVM offers multiple treatment options beyond acupuncture and herbal medicine; Tui-na massage may be safer and more acceptable for fractious or painful geriatric horses.
- •PPID can potentially be managed through dietary intervention alone in some cases, though this requires careful monitoring of ACTH levels and should be done under professional guidance.
Key Findings
- •A 30-year-old mare with PPID, arthritis, and laminitis developed Liver Qi Stagnation after escalating conventional medications, presenting with generalized weakness and lumbosacral pain.
- •Tui-na massage and food therapy allowed complete discontinuation of conventional drugs while maintaining quality of life and PPID control.
- •PPID was effectively managed through food therapy alone, monitored by ACTH blood concentrations relative to seasonal reference standards.
- •Alternative TCVM modalities (Tui-na and food therapy) were better tolerated than acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine in this patient.