My name is Rebecca White and I am the owner of and veterinarian at Integrative Veterinary Solutions, LLC. IVS provides chiropractic and acupuncture therapies to all species of animals. I started working as an ambulatory general medicine practitioner treating horses and small farm animals after graduating from veterinary medical school before moving back to my home state of Maine and starting IVS last year.
In my years as a general medicine practitioner, I came across several cases where my treatment options were limited. I felt I should be able to do more for my patient, but what I was reaching for just wasn’t there. For example, the pain a horse experiences with the condition laminitis can be profound, debilitating, and even life threatening. In my arsenault of western medical therapies, I just didn’t have anything that reliably and predictably alleviated this pain for my patients. When I discovered acupuncture and its potential as a potent analgesia, it was a game-changer in the way I managed these cases, and the relief it provided my patients.
One thing that practicing general medicine taught me is that treatments aren’t one-size-fits all.....that sometimes two patients with the very same disease process might respond differently to a particular medicine or procedure; and that sometimes it is a combination of treatments, procedures, and therapies- both Western and Eastern-that yield the best results. I am a firm believer that all of my various training in both Eastern and Western medicine are like adding tools to my tool box, and that often the most effective treatment plan is individualized and ultimately an integration of these disciplines. Those horses with laminitis don’t just get acupuncture, they also get pain-relieving medication, rest, physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, massages, and herbal therapies (among others)-whatever it takes to give that patient the best chance to heal and the most pain relief while doing so.
I remember from an early age having an innate deep respect and compassion for animals. I grew up in a rural town in central Maine where my family had a small herd of beef cattle, a couple of dairy goats, numerous chickens, a dog, several cats, and two horses. My two sisters liked the animals o.k., but it was always me you would find outside hanging out with the chickens or reading a book perched bareback on my roan pony. Horses became a passion of mine and as a young girl (and well into my teens), I spent all my free time at the local riding stable. I started out taking lessons, and slowly graduated to working off training and competition fees by doing chores; schooling naughty lesson ponies; and finally, teaching students myself.
It was this love of horses, riding, and competing that had me focused on equine studies in Veterinary school. After graduating from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in May of 2014, I completed a year-long internship with an equine practice in Southern Pines, NC, and later, became an associate with Eastern Equine Associates Mobile Veterinary Service. During this time I developed a strong interest in equine lameness and a passion for helping sport horses stay happy and healthy in their jobs, which led me to extra training in acupuncture and chiropractic therapies.
In the same way that my Eastern medicine training complemented my Western medicine practice, so too does my background in riding and competing horses and experience doing lameness work as a general practitioner complement my work with integrative therapy. Acupuncture and chiropractic care aims to optimize biomechanics and relies on accurate localization of pathology for best outcome: the most balanced gait for lameness prevention and optimization of athletic performance; or resolution of pain.
When I’m not treating animals, you can find me hiking with my dog, working with my young mare, cycling, running, or just enjoying the Maine outdoors. I live with my husband Dana, dog Manny, and cat Tomas in mid-coast Maine.
P.S. I'd love to meet you on fb and instagram @integrativeveterinarysolutions
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