Chiropractic Care for Dogs With Arthritis
In many cases of canine arthritis or hip dysplasia, there is also an underlying misalignment of the animal’s spine that can be treated through chiropractic adjustments.
When the spinal vertebrae in a dog are slightly misaligned, perhaps due to a traumatic event or dysplasia, naturally a dog will feel pain. They will also try to torque their body to shift the weight off the painful area. For instance, in hip dysplasia you can expect a pet to shift its weight off his or her hip joints to their front legs, neck and shoulders in order to avoid the painful hind region.
However which way a dog may shift, the shifting will lead to an unnatural load on other joints as well as a rotation of spinal vertebrae, which can produce muscle spasms. The overburdened joints will then begin to attract calcium ions because of the extra work load and necessary bone remodeling. The calcium may then begin to lay down on these surfaces as tiny rough plaques and calcium spurs.
Because a dog will shift its weight unnaturally, any abnormal weight strains on the newly preferred joints will also start to cause an abnormal wear and tear on those joints, resulting in yet more muscle spasms and calcium buildup in that area, as well.
Eventually, this overall combination of factors will cause the leg joints to break down, and a dog will have great difficulties in getting up and exercising.
Veterinary chiropractors, just like human chiropractors, explain that the dog’s vertebrae can not only become misaligned, but through this sequence of events can become coated with various calcium deposits that may interfere with the function of the spinal nerves (that are located between the spinal vertebrae) that stretch out to the animal’s muscles and organs.
Chiropractic therapy, however, is aimed at mechanically adjusting the spinal and other joints through physical manipulation to help with many of these problems. A veterinary chiropractor will greet an animal and evaluate the mobility of joints in the spine and elsewhere while searching to locate and adjust any areas that may be contributing to muscle or postural problems, such as the bones of the spine or legs.
The whole purpose behind chiropractic adjustments is to eliminate any restrictions or misadjustments so as to restore the full functioning of the nervous system as well as healthy movement to the joints.
You cannot tell, unless an animal is evaluated, whether chiropractic manipulations will help an animal unless it is taken in for evaluation. Chronic (long-standing) conditions may require a series of treatments. Most chiropractic veterinarians also know how to arrange a holistic diet for a dog and how to prescribe glucosamine supplementation or DGP, and you can find a practitioner through the following association:
American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA)
918-784-2231 The referral site to locate a doctor is at http://www.avcadoctors.com/
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