The art of veterinary care often centers on an intuition and clinical judgment of what our pets need, without being ‘told’ in so many words. So, when does a pet need a chiropractic adjustment? And what is animal chiropractic?

Clinically, animals that benefit from chiropractic care present with back or neck pain, have reduced performance while working or competing, have abnormal posture (base wide stance, sitting with one leg tucked under, splayed legs). Many pets will show pain by snapping or pinning their ears, show resistance or reluctance to perform tasks that previously were easy to do, have difficulty sitting up or standing, arch their backs, show sensitivity to touch, be frightened or have a painful facial expression, or exhibit changes in normal behavior.

 

Animal chiropractic is a receptor-based therapy designed to stimulate receptors in muscles and tendons. By applying a controlled force to a joint (an ‘adjustment’), normal range of motion of the joint is restored. Furthermore, these adjustments help to reduce in inflammation and improve of nerve signaling between the brain and the spinal nerves. The end result: increased range of motion of the joints, better flexibility of the skeleton, and improved comfort.

Chiropractic care aims to optimize the body’s alignment and proper interaction between fascia, muscles, bones, and nerves.

The stresses of daily existence can be hard on the body – jumping, running, playing, twisting, bouncing. When an animal, human or pet, suffers muscle or nerve pain, chiropractic adjustments can prove useful to realign mechanical interactions between the soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons) and the bony skeleton. This results in pain reduction, decreased inflammation and more effective biomechanics. Regular adjustments help maintain normal range of motion of joints. When used in conjunction with regular veterinary medicine, chiropractic care can provide additional means of diagnosis and treatment options for spinal problems and biomechanical musculoskeletal disorders. Chiropractic can often eliminate the source of acute and chronic pain to help our pets maintain mobility and comfort for many years to come.