Supporting Healthy Animals

So why would an animal get adjusted? Basically the same reason as a person – to help relieve pain, recover from an injury, improve performance, improve function, prevent injury & degeneration, and improve overall health & quality of life.

Chiropractic care focuses on the biomechanical dysfunction of the spine (vertebral subluxation) and its effect on the entire nervous system. Animal Chiropractors diagnose and treat subluxations in the spine or extremities that may occur from traumatic events. But most of the time, subluxations/joint immobility happens with repetitive stresses and micro traumas, the small movements that an animal does on a daily and weekly basis. The animal just shakes, brushes it off and moves on because it is small, but it can add up week after week, year after year.

If you ever spend a few hours with a puppy or foal, you will see they are very active and fearless. Whether it’s jumping up on couches, playing with one another, tumbling off of a bed or a chair, running through a field or even jumping over things, these animals push their bodies to the limit and often end up hurting themselves in the process. So small enough and often ignored that it may not appear as a symptom to us, the owner. We can’t see the small limp or pain because they hide their pain. It is the agility dog doing work and landing a bit funny, which throws off their gait for a second, but they keep on going. It’s the horse that is jumping and landing on a rock or bump in the grass, and that throws off their landing just by a bit and when ignored (or is unknown to us) the horse moves on yet the imbalance is there, and continues on day after day, week after week, and it grows from there.

As they grow, the animals calm down. However, all the small repetitive motions they did growing up, is often ignored and left unaddressed if the animal is not exhibiting any kind of symptom. The shifts they impose upon themselves, as babies tend to fester and worsen as the animal ages. That small degeneration slowly becomes bigger and more symptomatic, and that is when a vet may X-ray them and see that they have degenerative changes & arthritis. Then the owners come to see us.

And then, because all of this stress surrounds the spinal cord and affects the nerves, it can affect their overall health. The nervous system controls/governs the function of the immune system, so when their is a problem with the spine, it affects the nervous system and thus affects the immune system, so overall health can be affected.

Symptoms of subluxation may include pain, spasm, stiffness, sensitivity to touch, lameness, gait abnormalities, postural compromise and even organ dysfunction. And there may be no symptoms. Pets suffering from conditions such as arthritis, hip dysplasia, ACL injuries, lameness, gastrointestinal disease, chronic health issues, or back problems have benefitted from chiropractic adjustments. These are the symptoms that are the easiest to detect. Yet when normal movement of the spine is affected and left untreated, it can ultimately impact your animal’s entire wellbeing and quality of life.

The goal of an animal chiropractor is to restore function and mobility to the subluxated vertebra in an effort to re-connect the nervous system, which allows the body to perform at its optimum potential. Chiropractic can also enhance healing and improve range of motion in dogs & horses injured during sporting events, and can enhance their performance prior to competition.  Most animals enjoy their adjustment and relax during the appointment.

Some chiropractors adjust animals without going through the training, but the animal spine & anatomy is different then a human’s, thus we suggest only choosing a chiropractor that has the training through a certified animal chiropractic program.

Chiropractic Care is not intended to replace traditional veterinary care, but is considered an alternative therapy, to be used concurrently and in conjunction with veterinarian care.