Traditional healing at Ballito Veterinary Sport Behaviour and Medicine

For thousands of years people have been exploring the vast unknown medical world, creating concoctions and finding cures using whatever they had at their disposal.

Today, medicine has advanced at a rapid pace with new and improved medicinal ‘miracles’ being introduced to the medical world every year – helping both humans and their four-legged companions.

While modern medicine has evolved to a great extent, some veterinarians believe in integrating the best of the traditional methods developed over thousands of years with the best of modern medicine.

One such person is Ballito’s new vet, Dr Malcolm De Budé, who through an integrated approach, provides state of the art physical rehabilitation, physiotherapy, pain control, sports medicine, conditioning, weight control, pet geriatric wellness, acupuncture, behavioural veterinary medicine, and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine (TCVM).

Also read: Taking care of your four-legged fur-friends at Ballito Veterinary Sport Behaviour and Medicine

Working from his practice at Ballito Veterinary Sport Behaviour and Medicine (BVSBM), Dr De Budé is all about giving pets the best treatment possible, using both Western and Traditional approaches.

With extensive knowledge in the field, he combines the best of modern scientific veterinary medicine with traditional Chinese medicine including acupuncture and some Chinese herbal medicine.

“This gives pet parents a greater choice of what they feel is best,” said Dr De Budé, who is a member of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) and a member of the world association of TCVM.

TCVM, although relatively new to the Western world, is a medical system that has been used in China to treat animals for thousands of years.

According to the Chi Institute of TCVM, the Ancient Chinese observed yearly cycles through five seasons – spring, summer, late summer, autumn, and winter, which they corresponded to the Five Elements consisting of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Just as the Earth cycles through these five seasons, the body, too, passes through the five phases in its own life cycle.

In this way, a young pup is said to be in its Wood (or spring) phase of life, while an old mare is said to be in its Water (or winter) phase.

Moreover, the bodily organs have also been mapped to the five phases, and the Five Element Theory is used to explain the functional relationships between organ systems.

“TCVM takes a holistic approach looking at the integrated whole. Each patient is diagnosed and treated according to the pattern they present with.

“These signs include if there is an excess or deficiency – yin or yang signs – and the five elements. Wood for example is associated with the liver, fire with the heart, earth with the stomach and digestion, metal with the lung, an water with the kidneys and bone.”

Dr De Budé focuses mainly on two of the four branches of TCVM – herbal medicine and acupuncture.

Acupuncture points typically lie along the body’s Meridian Channels along which Qi flows, and according to Dr De Budé, it is a non-threatening technique with no side effects.

The herbal medicine he offers all contain pharmaceutical and clinical evidence, and are FDA accredited.

“It is all about doing what I love doing while making a major difference in the quality of life of pets and their people.”

Dr de Bude’s practice is located at 3 Willow Park, Ballito and he is currently the only local vet offering VacciCheck tests, ideal for knowing whether your pet needs to be vaccinated. This helps to reduce vaccination failure and prevents over-vaccination consequences.

To book a consultation, email malcolmda@telkomsa.net or call 082 3737721.