How an Animal Chiropractor Can Help Arthritic Dogs

Arthritis is a condition that is commonly experienced by dogs especially when they age. They will experience reduced movement, pain and stiffness as a result which can bring down their quality of life. If your dog is suffering from arthritis, you can consider taking them to a chiropractic clinic so that their quality of life can be improved.

When one or more joints in your dog’s body are inflamed,

It will result in pain and stiffness. Your fog will also have reduced flexibility in their joints. Sometimes arthritis can be caused due to injuries, obesity or genetics. Age is a common factor. There are two common types of arthritis your dog may suffer from such as rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. You can take your dog to our animal chiropractor if they are exhibiting stiffness especially after a period of inactivity, signs of limping, favouring one leg over the other and being less active than normal. When your dog has arthritis, they will be less inclined to engage in exercise or play as they have joint stiffness and pain. This will cause them to exhibit lethargy as well. Sometimes your dog may have an altered gait when they are walking or running. Observe your dog when they are standing up from a lying position; sometimes they will have difficulty rising due to arthritis. When joints are painful, the dogs will also chew at it or lick it to alleviate their discomfort.

You need to have traditional veterinary care

To diagnose the condition which can include physical examinations, blood tests and X-rays. Some of the traditional treatments will be providing them with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, managing a healthy weight, conducting physical therapy and going for surgical interventions such as joint replacement. Not all aspects of arthritis will be managed by traditional veterinary care so you can carry out chiropractic care as complementary therapy. The chiropractic adjustment will help relieve pain in joints as the joints will be realigned. This causes the pressure on sensitive areas to lessen so that your dog will experience less discomfort. Limited mobility is quite common when it comes to arthritic dogs and chiropractic care can help with this. The chiropractic adjustments can improve blood flow to arthritic joints so that it brings down inflammation and promote better healing.

Further degeneration in joints

Can be prevented by chiropractic care as proper alignment of the joints can be maintained. This reduces stress on the joints ensuring better joint health. The need for pain medication can be reduced as a result of chiropractic care. If your dog has chronic pain, with traditional veterinary care, they will be reliant on pain medication. You can discuss the options with both your veterinarian and animal chiropractor to come to a solution where pain medication is gradually reduced and pain relief is provided by chiropractic care. This will help minimise the potential side effects that come with medication. You can use chiropractic care in conjunction with other treatment methods such as traditional veterinary care so that comprehensive arthritis management can be achieved.