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Spinal Adjustments for Dogs

by | Oct 6, 2017 | Articles, Dog chiropractor, Jocelynn Jacobs DVM, CVC, BSC, Spinal Adjustment for Dogs, Veterinary Chiropractic

Spinal adjustments for dogs

Jocelynn Jacobs DVM, CVC

How many of us could jump hurdles on a high school track every day? Not me! Heck, some days I feel like climbing the stairs is a challenge!

Now imagine being your Yorkie or Shih Tzu wanting badly to be up on the comfy couch or bed with you…they will jump up and down for that for sure! Or maybe you have a Labrador Retriever that loves to go hunting – he will jump up in the back of your truck in a minute because he knows getting up there means he gets to hunt all day.

Stress To Your Dog’s Back And Neck

Jumping up and down off things can produce a lot of stress to your dog’s back and neck no matter how old they are. With time and age, this stress can take a toll on your pet, and that can lead to arthritis and pain of the spine and joints.

So to treat these issues we have a couple traditional options: Anti-inflammatories (such as
Rimadyl, Metacam, or steriods), joint supplements (such as glucosamine), and Omega-3’s (such as fish or flax seed oil). These are things the average veterinarian will reach for in treating arthritis of the back or joints.

However, there are OTHER options such as spinal and joint adjustments (veterinary chiropractic). Chiropractic for animals? Yes! However not every veterinarian has been certified to do spinal and joint adjustments on animals. To do animal chiropractic one must be either a veterinarian (DVM/VMD) or human chiropractor (DC) that has been accepted in an animal chiropractic school such as the College of Animal Chiropractic (CoAC) and passed all their examinations and certification exams. They will graduate with either a CVC (Certified Veterinary Chiropractic) or CAC (Certified Animal Chiropractic) degree and must take continuing education classes to keep their certification.

How Do Spinal And Joint Adjustments Help Your Pet?

In simple terms, arthritis and damaged joints develop fibrous connective tissue around bones which can decrease movement of these joints and block blood supply to the nerves that stimulate normal muscle and joint movement. With adjustments, the adhesions are gently broken down and blood supply is re-introduced to the nerves allowing them to function better.

Nerves need oxygen, glucose (food) and stimulation to stay healthy. Without them, they will die. Adjustments help increase blood flow to the nerves providing them with oxygen and food, and the movement helps stimulate them to become healthy again.

Can your dog benefit from veterinary chiropractic adjustments? Absolutely! No matter their age (although treating a dog at 5 years old is better than starting at 12 years old),all animals can benefit from spinal and joint adjustments to prevent adhesions and help heal damage from injury. ALL dogs from the couch potato variety to the agility dog definitely will benefit from even maintenance adjustments.

spinal adjustments for senior dogs

Yes..Visiting a Dog Chiropractor Can Help

I have been treating patients with spinal issues that could not even wag their tail until they started adjustments. Some dogs come in depressed because they are in so much pain and within even 1 or 2 appointments start walking better, wagging their tails and are no longer depressed because of the chronic pain they were in.

Drugs alone may help temporally, but remember they may be “masking” the issues. Spinal and joint adjustments may actually “fix” the issue in a more natural way. Click on the button below to read more about Veterinary Chiropractic.

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