Chiropractic Care for Your Pet
A recent viral video (see below) grabbed the attention of internet pet lovers when it showed a burly rottweiler responding in awe after a man manually adjusts his neck. Many people are aware of chiropractic care like the treatment shown in the video. They’ve either experienced the therapy themselves, or they’ve had friends or family discuss the benefits of visiting their chiropractor. In Canada, a whopping 26% of the population have had some kind of chiropractic care. In the United States, about 10% of the population sees a chiropractor at least once a year.
The response to the video highlights how many pet owners are curious about chiropractic’s potential benefits for their pets. They might even want an opportunity to access this care to improve the comfort, mobility, and well-being of their beloved companions.
What Is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic is recognized as a pillar of complementary and alternative medicine. It is sometimes combined with rehabilitative techniques like physiotherapy and massage. Focusing on the musculoskeletal system, chiropractic involves assessing and evaluating a patient to diagnose mechanical disorders in the joints, spinal column, and musculoskeletal system. Treatments include manual manipulation of target areas by applying pressure at a carefully chosen location, angle, and force.
Chiropractors may also take advantage of technologies such as therapeutic ultrasound or cold laser therapy. Additionally, exercises for alignment, flexibility, and strength may be prescribed by a chiropractor for health maintenance at home. Chiropractors don’t just treat humans, many practitioners also offer care to dogs, cats, and even horses.
Some of the common conditions treated include:
- Back or neck pain
- Appetite problems related to jaw pain
- Lameness related to the hips, knees, or shoulders
- Sports injuries
- Posture and gait abnormalities
- Problems related to arthritis
Key Chiropractic Terms
When learning about chiropractic for animals, it can be helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the common terms used to describe the conditions and treatments relevant to the practice. Here is some of the language you’re sure to encounter:
- Vertebra. The individual bones that are aligned to form the spinal column.
- Intervertebral Space. The space that forms a flexible joint between two adjacent vertebrae.
- Subluxation. A subtle misalignment of the vertebrae or other joints in the skeletal system.
- Adjustment. Manual manipulation techniques used to correct subluxations.
- Hypermotility. Excessive movement in a joint.
- Hypomotility. Reduced or restricted movement in a joint.
- Range of Motion. The full natural movement potential of a joint.
- Chiropractor. A practitioner of chiropractic care.
Potential Benefits of Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors assert that even subtle misalignments can impact mechanical and neurological function, and overall comfort. Chronic muscle, joint, or back pain may hyper-sensitize all nerves arising from the same segment of the spine, creating a cycle of pain and inflammation. Some chiropractors theorize that spinal nerve sensitization could cause neurogenic inflammation in the organs and tissues that those nerves supply. The goal of chiropractic adjustments is to realign the joints found in the spine, limbs, and even the jaw. This is thought to alleviate pain and inflammation, and restore normal function.
Controversies and Criticisms of Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic in animals, like in humans, has its critics. All therapeutic interventions have risks as well as benefits to the patient. Care providers need to determine that a patient will have a greater chance of benefiting from a treatment than they do to suffer harm.
Critics argue that more scientific evidence is needed to validate the effectiveness of chiropractic care in animals. They express concerns about potential harm from improper or unnecessary adjustments. These concerns highlight the need to discuss chiropractic care thoroughly with your veterinarian, and to select a trusted provider.
Choosing a Chiropractic Care Provider
Both veterinary medicine and chiropractic are very deep and complex professions requiring lengthy training. Standard veterinary medical programs do not include chiropractic education. Similarly, most chiropractors are not comprehensively trained in animal anatomy and physiology. Therefore, when selecting a provider of chiropractic care for your animal, it is very important that you verify that your practitioner has completed extensive specialized training to provide chiropractic care to animals. You may choose a chiropractor with additional animal training, or a veterinarian qualified in chiropractic. For both professions, the quality and depth of certifications in animal chiropractic vary widely, so it is important to ask questions about your provider’s knowledge, training, and experience.
Summary
There is no doubt that there is a growing interest in chiropractic care for pets, sparked by internet media, testimonials, personal experiences, and an overall desire to provide elevated care for our animal companions. Pet owners have shown that they believe chiropractic plays a role in enhancing animal well-being.
While there are benefits, such as pain relief and improved mobility, the practice faces criticisms, particularly regarding the need for more scientific validation. It's vital for pet owners to choose a qualified provider with specialized training in animal chiropractic care and to consult with their veterinarian. Pet owners that want to provide their companions with complementary and alternative medicine options should explore pet insurance products that offer coverage for a more holistic approach to care. The integration of chiropractic care into veterinary medicine reflects an evolving understanding of animal health, a deepening of the human-animal bond, and the desire for a broad range of treatment options for our furry companions.
Click here to learn more about pet insurance.