Vets give pet therapy new adjustment
Chiropractic care increasingly entering animal health world
Awell-adjusted pet may just begin with a visit to your chiropractor. There may not be the padded table and spine-tingling twists, but chiropractic care is beginning to crack the animal health world.
Though the approach slightly differs, the overall practice of correcting the neurology — the brain-to-nerve message centre that controls body function — remains the same between human and animal says certified animal chiropractor Josée Gerard.
“The brain is your main message centre — it controls every function, cell, hormone and muscle in your body,” says Gerard, who practises out of High Tails Pet Resort near Balzac and the Marda Loop Veterinary Centre.
“The brain sends messages to the rest of the body through the spinal cord and spinal nerves.”
Surfacing in the late 1980s, a combination of chiropractors and veterinarians found the spine-adjusting practice could be transferred to our four-legged friends.
“In worst cases you have paralysis, in milder cases the misalignment only interrupts part of the message,” says Gerard.
“My job is to go through the spin and realign the bones the way Mother Nature intended them to be.”
Adjustments can help ease a number of ailments including hip dysplasia, arthritis, seizures, auto-immune disorders, impact or fall injuries, diarrhea and even hair loss.
The most common complaints are loss of mobility and general behaviour changes. Unlike the human practice, there is no spine cracking, aggressive hip twists or the dreaded neck crack. The animal stands on a mat while Gerard uses a much more gentle handson approach.
“An animal won’t tolerate any of that,” she says. “The procedure is similar but it’s a lot more gentle. If you’re witnessing an adjustment it will look like I’m barely touching the animal.”
Response from sessions is usually immediate, and finishes with a full body shake from the patient.
In many cases, pet owners say their animal reverts back to an energetic, youthful state, says Gerard.
Despite many positive outcomes, Gerard adds chiropractic care is not a replacement for regular medical care. She will only take new clients on a referral from a veterinarian.
“This is not a substitute for veterinary care or a replacement for (other treatments),” she says. “But there are instances where an animal is lame or partially paralyzed and the vet feels they have done everything they can short of surgery.”