Dog Chiropractic Adjustment

Dr. Jacobs has been practicing veterinary medicine in the Midland, Michigan area since 1991. Her expertise ranges from small animal internal medicine and diagnostics, pediatric medicine, soft tissue surgery, performance dog nutrition, canine reproduction and veterinary chiropractic with neuro-muscular and joint bio-mechanics.

Veterinary Spinal Adjustments

Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy, aka Veterinary Spinal Adjustments, is a relatively new field for animals – it has only been formally recognized since 1988. It began when Dr. Sharon Willoughby, a veterinarian like Dr. Jacobs who had an interest in working with performance and breeding dogs, began working with others like Dr. Tom Offen to investigate alternatives to pharmaceuticals to help treat animals with back, neck, limb and other issues related to spinal damage.

Additional College Is Required

Dr. Jacobs received her Veterinary Chiropractic degree from the College of Animal Chiropractors – Veterinary Chiropractic Learning Center – Ontario, Canada in 2015. ONLY veterinarians (DVM/VMD) or human chiropractors (DC) can be accepted in colleges for certification in veterinary/animal chiropractic. Monthly written and practical examinations are required with very high scores. Only those with passion and dedication are awarded this degree.

Dog Spinal Adjustments

What Is Spinal Manipulative Therapy?

Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy (VSMT) is similar to the chiropractic treatment done on humans. Contrary to what some people believe, chiropractors do NOT put a bone back in place or fix pinched nerves. Even if you were the strongest person in the world, this would not be physically possible!
Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapy is based solely on restoring neuromuscular function and joint bio-mechanics. Using a small amount of action in the correct direction of joint motion, the joints between vertebrae and bones are gently restored to normal motion to allow the joints to move with more ease. This also helps nerve function by restoring blood and lymph supply to the nerves innervating both the surrounding structures, muscles, and organs of the body.

Spinal Manipulative Therapy also significantly decreases pain by stimulating large diameter fibers to the brain to “naturally” suppress pain versus solely the use of pharmaceuticals. Call to schedule an appointment.

Animal Spinal Adjustment

What Types Of Things Can Spinal Manipulation Therapy Help With?

There are SO MANY things VSMT can help with, the list is longer than can be put in this brochure. Here are just a FEW things:

  • Neck Pain
  • Back Pain
  • Reproductive Issues (Infertility, C-sections, etc)
  • Mouth/Jaw pain
  • Lick Granulomas
  • Idiopathic Vestibular Disease
  • Urinary Incontinence
  • Chronic Anal Gland Issues
  • Tail/Rear End Tenderness
  • Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
  • Chronic Gagging/Coughing Issues in older dogs
  • Chronic lameness
  • Degenerative Myopathy
  • Difficulty Climbing Stairs or Jumping
  • Post Surgical or Dental Pain
  • Dogs Sitting Off to One Side Versus
  • Straight (obedience or agility dogs)
  • ANY Performance Dog Biomechanical
  • Issue Pre- or Post- Competition

An additional service we offer that really compliments our Spinal therapy is Fascia Relaxation Therapy. This service is for cats and dogs. The cost is $40 without an exam (Fascia treatment only) or $10 when combined with a chiropractic adjustment.

Animal Spinal Therapy Consultation

Typical Spinal Therapy Consultation

When visiting a certified veterinary doctor, there are many things that may be evaluated during your visit besides the animal’s general health such as:

  • Detailed History
  • Conformation Evaluation
  • Muscle Development
  • Gait/Movement Analysis
  • Joint Mobility (Vertebral and Limb)
  • Pain Location Evaluation
  • Radiographic Evaluations

What To Expect

The initial consultation takes about 30-45 minutes depending on if radiographs are needed. Once the areas of fixations are determined, spinal therapy adjustments are done weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly depending on the severity and response. The recheck appointments are approximately 10-15 minutes.

Keep this in mind: Your pet’s issue did not just “suddenly appear.” Chances are some of these issues have been coming on for many months or more. Thus the average pet may take 3 or 4 adjustments to see a significant change, however, most people say they see changes much quicker in their pet – some even after only 1 adjustment.

If you have any additional questions, you can call Dr. Jacobs or set up an appointment with her to evaluate your pet.