Animal chiropractic care is an alternative drugless method of health care. Humans have enjoyed the benefits of chiropractic care for more than 100 years. Many people see their chiropractor for more than just back pain. People visit their chiropractor for more energy, for improved sports performance, for better resistance to disease, and to help insure drug-free lives for themselves and their families. This is known as wellness care.

Animal chiropractic care deals with the nervous system and the two most important parts are housed within the skull and spinal column. The spinal cord carries the nerves that are distributed to every organ and tissue of the body. These nerves exit the spinal column between the bones of the spine called vertebrae. The science of chiropractic care has discovered throughout the last one hundred years that a misalignment of joints (subluxation), especially the vertebrae, adversely alters nerve function from and around those areas. Altered nerve impulses leaving the spinal column can affect the function of organs and tissues supplied by that nerve. This altered function can lead to pain, disease, fatigue, muscle weakness, poor balance, immune suppression, etc. Animal chiropractic is the art, science and philosophy which uses the inherent recuperative powers of the body and deals with the relationship between the nervous system and the spinal column and its associated structures. Remember, the power that made the body, heals the body, it happens no other way.

Keep in mind, chiropractic does not replace traditional veterinary medicine but works very well with it. When a joint is subluxated it looses motion and sometimes position as well. The chiropractic adjustment is designed to restore correct alignment and full working order. A chiropractic adjustment is aimed at correcting the subluxation and restoring the proper functioning of the nervous system. Chiropractic thus works to eliminate the cause of the problem and not just simply treat the symptoms.

 

Does My Dog Need a Chiropractor?

 

How To Tell If Your Dog's Spine is Healthy

The only way that you will truly know if your dog has a subluxation ( misalignment of the joint) in its spine is to have it examined by a certified animal chiropractor. However, there are a few things that you can do before and after exercise that may give you an indication that your canine companion would benefit from chiropractic care.

Watch your dog as it turns its head to eat a treat held at the shoulder or bite that fly which is buzzing around. There should be no tilt in the head as your dog turns to reach back. Many dogs will back in order to try and get a treat; others will twist their head around and grab the treat with a sideways maneuver. Look for heat, swelling and tenderness along the spine and around the joints of the rest of the spine.

Your dog may benefit from chiropractic care if he/she exhibits one or more of the following signs:

• Decrease in level of performance, laziness; remember the nervous system supplies the body with energy.
• Loss of wind capacity (rib subluxation will affect the dog's ability to respire).
• Problems or difficutly executing desired movements (climbing stairs, jumping on the couch, agility obstacles).
• Behavorial changes (starting to snap, refusal to play with family members).
• Problems eating or refusing to play with toys.
• Short striding, uneven strides, nail dragging, stumbling.
• Diagnosed conditions such as degenerative arthritis.
• Muscle imbalance, spasms, or atrophy.
• Abnormal posture when standing, standing with hips uneven, choosing to stand on uneven ground, not squaring up when urinating,
  holding tail to one side.
• Shaking of the head, constant ear problems, allergies.
• Injuries resulting from falls, training or other activites.
• Stressful situations, such as poor conformation of the dog, various training equipment, performance level and ability of the dog.
• Chronic disease conditions, multiple reptitive infections, weak immune system.

Contact us today for a free, no-cost evaluation of your dog's spine to determine if he or she could benefit from chiropractic care.