ARE YOUR ANIMALS WELL ADJUSTED?
chiropracticforanimals.net
Chiropractic Care for Dogs and Cats
By Dr. Julie Kaufman
"How do know if and when my animal needs chiropractic care?" Many people have heard of or read about such care for animals, but are unaware of the benefits, dangers and general indications for this type of care. It is also important to know how to locate a professional who is fully qualified in the field of animal chiropractic.
In this article I will provide basic information about animal chiropractic to help you understand what it is, when it is appropriate, when it is not appropriate, and who is best qualified to provide such care for your loved animal.
WHAT IS CHIROPRACTIC?
Chiropractic is simple: A mechanical solution for mechanical problems. It is a natural, drug-free adjunct to your animal's total health care. In conjunction with regular veterinary care, chiropractic care can decrease pain, and add quality to your animal's performance, movement, and well being by restoring normal range of motion to your animal's joints.
Chiropractic care is used specifically in cases where an injury has occurred that has caused mechanical upset to the joints, muscles or nerves. It is commonly used for animals who have had slips, falls, or other trauma, arthritis, disc disease (at all stages especially where weakness or paralysis are involved), Wobbler's syndrome, (CVI), in dogs, hip dysplasia, and when animals have become stiff or painful. *
An animal chiropractor should always work with a veterinarian when possible to provide the best overall treatment strategy for the animal's health.
Chiropractic care addresses problems stemming from imbalances in the following three systems:
THE SKELETAL SYSTEM AND THE JOINTS OF THE BODY: Bones and joints form a flexible structure designed to provide pain-free movement when in normal health and alignment.
THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM: Healthy muscles allow the joints to move freely. Healthy muscles are free of spasm, weakness, pain, knots, or degenerative changes.
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: Nerves are the electrical wires of the body. They "direct" the functions of the body and control the flow of communication between the brain and all areas of the body. When nerves are pinched, reduced performance levels and pain may result. This can quickly lead to a state of poor health.
WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS RESPOND TO CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT, HOW MANY ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE NEEDED, AND WILL IT HURT MY ANIMAL?
Chiropractic care is extremely helpful for animals having problems involving the joints, muscles and nerves. This is because chiropractic addresses many mechanical causes of disease where the nerves are pinched by a stuck or rotated joint, or by a tight muscle. This type of problem is called “A SUBLUXATION OR MISALIGNMENT".
After a veterinarian has examined the animal and given a referral, two or three adjustments are initially performed. The animal is then monitored for changes to see if there is any measurable improvement. If none is present, your veterinarian is called in to perform further diagnostic work. If your animal has noticeably improved, a future adjustment schedule is determined based on the type and severity of your animal's condition. This range is usually set from 4 weeks to 12 months between adjustments unless the condition is chronic or severe and requires more frequent visits.
Chiropractors treat subluxations by gently adjusting the misaligned area into alignment. In most cases this restores proper skeletal movement, muscle and nerve function. My adjustments are LOW FORCE and GENTLE, the equivalent of an adjustment for a human infant. Most animals noticeably enjoy their adjustment. Adjustments for animals are generally low force and pain free because animal chiropractic does not involve as much force as some human techniques.
To give you some idea of what owners saw in their animals that caused them to seek out chiropractic care, I will briefly share some of the cases I have seen over the years.
About 3 years ago, I saw a 13-year-old dog that had fallen over an 85-foot waterfall while chasing a ball. This had happened over a year prior to the owner seeking treatment. The dog's symptoms included back and pelvic pain, general fatigue and a noticeable change in personality. She responded well to a few treatments, had no more pain, became her "old self” again, and is now adjusted only once or twice a year as needed.
I have worked with a wildlife rehabilitator over the years doing charity adjustments for several birds of prey under her care. One hawk that she brought into our clinic had flown into a picture window and injured her wing and neck. The vet treatment had gone well however she still could not fly. We treated her neck, which had been compressed from the head on collision. The adjustments were ultra low force because birds have bones that are porous. The hawk responded well and was released back into the wild.
I worked on a cat that had been picked up off of his deck by a predator hawk. (I doubt it was the same hawk I had adjusted!) It was suspected that there was internal damage and a vet recommended euthanasia. We got a vet referral and worked on the cat once because the owner could not let one last chance for help pass by. She promised to put him down if the treatment did not work because none of us could bear to see him suffer. He responded miraculously and lived several more years with no major problems. When he was due for a chiropractic treatment, his tail would start to droop and the owners would bring him in. He was a really smart fellow and each time I would call and leave a message on the owner's answering machine he would come right down and knock it off of the counter. Do you believe some say animals don't know what is going on!
Last year I saw a horse that was quite curious and apparently hungry. She climbed up the steps from the lower barn up to the hay storage above. Unfortunately, she did not make the steep stairs designed for humans and fell backward down the stairs. The owners saw the need for chiropractic and brought her right over for a few sessions. Nothing in vet medicine could have helped such a mechanical injury. Thank goodness she is back to her antics again.
The final case is one I see often. It is a case of disc disease. I see roughly 10-15 dogs per week with some degree of disc problem. In this case, a young Beagle suddenly started shaking, crying and was unable to get up. The veterinary school recommended immediate surgery because several disks had collapsed. The owners wanted to try conservative methods first and use surgery as a last effort due to the expense and invasiveness of it. The dog had no reflexes and was totally paralyzed in both rear legs. She was also incontinent. A holistic veterinary acupuncturist and I worked on her weekly for six weeks during which time she regained full use of her back end. She is 100% normal. We now treat her every 3 months as a preventative measure. Several years have passed and she has not had any reoccurrence.
There are also some cases where chiropractic did not help the animal. Fortunately these are not frequent but I feel a need to mention them for the sake of fairness. One such case was a dog that was hit by a car. Her shoulder was damaged and she suffered severe muscle loss. We knew she had "radial nerve" damage, which is the major nerve to the back of the front leg and shoulder blade muscles. We could not tell if the nerve damage was caused by a severed nerve or by a pinched nerve. After 2 or 3 treatments, it became apparent that the nerve was severed and was not going to heal. I had to tell the client that there was no more we could do. In cases wherthe nerve is severed or "dead", chiropractic will not help. Fortunately, there is not a large expense involved in trying a couple of treatments.
WHEN IS CHIROPRACTIC CARE APPROPRIATE?
If your animal presents any of the following signs or symptoms, contact your veterinarian for an examination and consider chiropractic as a treatment option.
· BACK, NECK, LEG, OR TAIL PAIN:
· INJURIES RESULTING FROM SLIPS, FALLS OR ACCIDENTS.
· PERFORMANCE OR MOVEMENT PROBLEMS.
· SUDDEN CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR OR PERSONALITY SUCH AS CRABBINESS,
· HOLDING TAIL DOWN OR OFF TO ONE SIDE, SHAKING, CRYING OR HIDING.
· PAIN SYNDROMES.
CHANGES IN POSTURE SUCH AS: HANGING THE HEAD, OR SITTING OFF TO ONE SIDE.
· UNEVEN MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT.
· JAW OR TMJ PROBLEMS, DIFFICULTY CHEWING.
· WEIGHT LOSS DUE TO PAIN.
· HEAD TILT.
· CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME.
· UNEVEN PELVIS OR HIPS.
· A LOOK OF APPREHENSION OR PAIN IN THE FACIAL EXPRESSION.
· NECK PAIN FROM SUDDEN COLLAR OR CHOKE CHAIN PULLS.
· DISC PROBLEMS.
· JUMPING PROBLEMS OR INJURIES.
· SHORTENING OF A STRIDE.
· DEGENERATIVE ARTHRITIS.
· SCIATIC NEURALGIA.
· SPORTS INJURIES.
· UNEVEN TOPLINE: HUNCHING UP OR DIPPING DOWN...
· SENSITIVITY TO TOUCH DURING GROOMING OR PETTING.
· PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH HIP DYSPLASIA.
· REAR END WEAKNESS.
· DIFFICULTY GOING UP OR DOWN STAIRS.
· WOBBLERS SYNDROME.
· SOME LAMENESS SYNDROMES.
GENERAL PREVENTIVE AND MAINTENANCE CARE.
WHEN IS CHIROPRACTIC CARE INAPPROPRIATE?
There are times when chiropractic care may be detrimental to your animal. In cases where your animal has a type of cancer that has spread to the bone it is not advised that any force be applied to the skeletal structures. I must say that several of my patients are on chemotherapy for non-bone-related cancers and respond well to low force chiropractic as an adjunct to their cancer treatment.
I remember a few years ago, I had a client who came into one of the vet clinics I work in. The client brought x-rays of her dog's pelvis along. He was an older German Shepherd who presented with rear end pain and weakness. When I viewed the x-rays with some of the veterinary staff, we noticed bone loss that could have been caused by cancer of some other degenerative disease. I declined to treat the dog until the original vet had reviewed the x-rays, fearing that any manipulation might make the condition worse. The client was enraged that I would not adjust her dog and stormed out of the clinic. I was sad for the dog but could not treat the dog with any integrity knowing that I could have caused more pain and suffering. This is one reason that I recommend that vets and chiropractors work together.
Some other cases where chiropractic may not be appropriate are:
1. Immediately following surgery. It is important to let the animal heal for at least a week after a minor surgery and two weeks after a major surgery before performing an adjustment.
2. In cases where a fracture or major dislocation is suspected.
3. In cases where the stress of being adjusted outweigh the possible benefits. This may include some animals that are extremely anxious or aggressive and may not reap the benefit of the treatment.
4. Animals who are under heavy sedation or anesthesia. Damage may occur to the animal's structures while sedated. I do however treat one or two cats very gently under sedation. They are extreme cases where the cat is known to be an aggressive biter who is showing serious signs of back pain. In such cases we only adjust once or twice and preferably while the animal is under anesthesia for other procedures such as dental care.
5. In some cases where there is a history of seizures. I have found that chiropractic may increase the activity of some types of seizures and is therefore not recommended. I do treat select seizure cases where the animal is on medication to control the seizures and/ or a ketogenic diet which has been effective in controlling the seizure activity. Many times I refer animals that have a history of seizures to an animal acupuncturist.
6. With some types of infections, it is not advisable to adjust. If the type of infection travels by blood, or is at risk of spreading by increased circulation, it is not advisable to adjust. In cases of large bruised areas, this same principal applies but the Dr. may be able to work around this area and still provide some relief for the animal.
HOW DO I LOCATE A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN MY AREA?
At This time, animal chiropractic certification courses are open to licensed veterinarians and Chiropractors only. The courses are offered through an organization called the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, AVCA. Chiropractors and Veterinarians must take a series of courses and then pass oral, written and practical examinations to become eligible for certified animal chiropractor status, C.A.C.
It is wise to contact the AVCA, at avcadoctors.com to locate a certified animal chiropractor near you.
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