• Acute problems such as tension or stiffness
• Chronic musculoskeletal problems
• Enhance performance ability of sport animals
• Prophylactic treatment to maintain fitness
• Maintain soundness in older animals
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• Trauma – falls, trips, slips.
• Narcotics – post-surgical.
• Transportation – long transportation times, accidents, poor shock absorption
and unsympathetic driving.
• Birthing Difficulties – both the mother and the offspring.
• Lack of Movement – lack of space to exercise.
• Performance – every event strain the spine in different ways.
• Age – effects of previous spinal traumas become more apparent.
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Horses:
• Reduced performance
• Abnormal posture
• Snapping and pinning back its ears when being saddled
• Throwing its head back or hollowing the back
• Disobedience when jumping
• Difficulties with lateral or collected gaits
• Changes in behaviour
• Sensitivity to touch
Dogs:
• Signs of pain when performing certain movements or being lifted
• Reluctance to move, climb stairs or jump onto raised areas
• Undefined lameness, ambling or slow gait, worn down nails on one or more
paws
• Altered sitting position (so-called “puppy sitting”)
• The animal only lies on one side
• Recurrent digestive trouble
• dripping urine or the inability to hold faeces
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Your own observations
• Has your animals’ behaviour or performance changed recently?
• Does unusual or fluctuating lameness exist?
• Does the animal drag its feet or are the shoes/ nails worn down on one
side?
Examining mobility
• Using a treat if necessary, ask the animal to turn its head and neck to
the side. Less mobility one side compared to the other could indicate a
problem in the cervical vertebrae.
• Test the lateral movement of the spine by placing one hand on the spine
and with the other pull the animals’ tail carefully towards you so that its
back bends around your hand.
Is one side stiffer than the other?
• Place slight pressure on the back from above. The back should easily and
evenly, spring and swing. It should not feel stiff and hard.
Feeling the muscles
• Examine the animals main muscle groups for pain, tension and asymmetry.
The muscles should be symmetrical; feeling firmly elastic but not too hard
or too soft. If you place the muscles under moderate pressure, the animal
should not show signs of being in pain.
Feeling the spine
• Feel the spine along its full length, paying attention to any elevations
and protruding areas of bone. Compare the two sacral tubercles (the bony
points of the pelvis at the rear end of the animal) these should look level.
Look for any protruding areas of bone in the neck.
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This question must be answered on an individual basis for each patient. In most cases, a single treatment is not enough to eliminate the problem. A chiropractor adjusts the animal’s spine to restore normal motion and neurological function in the joint. This may need to be done a number of times, until the body accepts the normal motion and the muscles and ligaments support and maintain that motion.
Most animals show significant improvement after one to four treatments. Chronic problems usually take longer requiring more chiropractic treatment, whereas animals with acute problems often respond more quickly.
Please contact us for further information.
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