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Chiropractic
For Pets
by Shawn Messonnier, D.V.M.
Chiropractic medicine is the use
of spinal manipulation to
improve health. Like other
complementary therapies, chiropractic
medicine is designed
to work at the appropriate level of the healing
process and to work with the normal inborn
homeostasis (the ability of the body to remain
“normal and healthy”), rather than simply
treating symptoms. Spinal manipulation is an
old therapy, almost as old as acupuncture. The
Chinese used acupuncture from about 2700
B.C. while Hippocrates used spinal manipulation
because he felt that alignment problems
with the spine were the cause of many diseases.
While chiropractic care has been used in
human medicine for many years, only recently
has this discipline been applied to animals.
While few controlled studies have shown benefits
of chiropractic therapy, a number of anecdotal
reports have demonstrated positive
benefits.
Chiropractic care focuses on the interactions
between neurologic mechanisms (the
nervous system) and the biomechanics of the
vertebrae. In chiropractic theory, disease arises
as a result of spinal misalignment that negatively
influences the nervous system. Since all
body systems are regulated by the nervous
system, anything that interferes with nervous impulses to organs (including spinal misalignment)
could impact the proper functioning of
those organs and body systems. Chiropractic
therapy seeks to realign the spine by a variety
of manipulative techniques.
Spinal misalignments are called subluxations
by chiropractors (this is not be confused
with the term subluxation, meaning partial
dislocation, as used by conventional doctors).
A subluxation is technically defined as a “disrelationship
of a vertebral segment in association
with contiguous (surrounding) vertebrae,
resulting in a disturbance of normal biomechanical
and neurological function.”
Chiropractic Theories
Several hypotheses have been proposed to
explain how chiropractic subluxations cause
disease. They include:
Facilitation. The subluxation produces a
lower threshold for nerve firing in the spinal
cord. Realigning the spine stops the nerve
firing, relieving signs of disease.
Somatoautonomic Dysfunction. The
abnormal responses of the autonomic nervous
system result from altered nerve function that
occurs as a result of subluxations. The
abnormal autonomic nervous system may
cause disease in tissues regulated by this
branch of the nervous system, including the
heart, digestive tract and urogenital system.
Nerve Compression. The vertebral subluxations
cause pressure on spinal nerves, which
alters the normal transmission in the nervous
system. Chiropractors believe that the nerve
compression leads to ischemia (reduced blood
supply) and edema (swelling caused by a
buildup of fluid) of the compressed nerves,
which causes the dysfunction.
Compressive Myelopathy. The vertebral
subluxations may compress or irritate the
spinal cord, which can cause ischemia and/or
edema, leading to clinical signs.
Fixation. The diseased vertebrae are “fixed”
within their normal biomechanical range of
motion; the fixation involves local spinal muscles
and nerve receptors.
Vertebrobasilar Arterial Insufficiency. The
vertebral arteries are constricted due to the subluxations,
which leads to ischemia of the spinal
cord or structures of the head of the patient.
Axoplasmic Aberration. The intercellular
movement of proteins, glycoproteins or neurotransmitters
in the nerve cells is altered as a
result of subluxations. The altered axoplasmic
transport may result in toxic buildup of proteins,
contributing to disease.
Neurodystrophy. Nerve dysfunction is
stressful to the body and its organs and this
lowered tissue resistance can modify the
immune system. This interaction between the
nervous system and the immune system (such
interaction has been demonstrated in connections
between the immune system and the
neuroendocrine system of the body) causes
disease.
Regardless of which hypotheses may ultimately
be proven to be the cause of disease
resulting from spinal subluxations, chiropractic
medicine seeks to “cure” the disease
process by correcting these subluxations.
Chiropractors correct subluxations by performing
clinical examinations and radiographic
(x-ray) examinations to determine
which vertebrae are misaligned. Once the location
of the subluxation has been determined,
the veterinary chiropractor performing the
treatment will perform a spinal adjustment.
The spinal adjustment, defined as a “specific
physical action designed to restore the biomechanics
of the vertebral column and indirectly
influence neurological function,” is performed
as needed to realign the subluxated vertebrae
and allow neurologic reprogramming of
muscle contractions and healing of damaged
ligaments. Usually multiple adjustments are
needed as the body requires time to heal.
Safety
Because of the increase in popularity in many
complementary treatment techniques such as
chiropractic, a number of “animal therapists”
have advertised chiropractic care (and massage
and acupuncture/acupressure) as part of their
specialty. Only veterinarians or chiropractors
using the technique under direct veterinary
supervision should perform chiropractic therapies
on pets. Laymen should not be allowed to
practice any of these medical techniques on
animals.
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