My Pet Doesn’t Need Chiropractic….
Have you heard about chiropractic for animals, and said to yourself “Well, that sounds cool, but my pet doesn’t need chiropractic. They move just fine”?
Well, guess what? If your pet has a spine, it CAN benefit from chiropractic. In 5 years of doing chiropractic exams on cats and dogs, Dr Leonard has only found THREE patients that didn’t need at least one adjustment on their first visit. Most get between three and six at each visit. Some need as many as 10-12 adjustments. Why does this matter?
A chiropractic examination consists of a trained practitioner (one with training in the specific anatomy and joint angles and peculiarities of that species) checking the movement of all joints, some in more than one direction. Any joints with limited movement will receive a quick adjustment at just the right angle to correct that limitation. A joint that is “stuck” in this way will have inflammation of the numerous soft tissues around it. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments can be swollen or contracted, blood and lymph vessels may be congested, and all of these things then put pressure on the nerves in the area. Nerves don’t like pressure, as you know if you’ve ever hit your “funny bone”. Nerves under pressure will have reduced function. Since nerves are the control center of the body, whatever they are in charge of controlling will then also have reduced function. While this may manifest as pain or poor movement, it can also show up as reduced gut function, immune system malfunction, heart problems, and glandular imbalances.
In order to maintain proper function of the nervous system, Dr Leonard recommends a chiropractic evaluation for ALL pets on initial visits. Even puppies and kittens may need adjustments from birth trauma or rough play with siblings. Depending on how many adjustments are needed, a follow-up exam may be anywhere from one week to six months later.
Many pets look forward to their chiropractic exams. Some who were suspicious of the strange maneuvers at first then realize how good they feel afterwards and rush into the office for future visits. Most of our clients can easily tell how much better their pet feels after
a chiropractic exam by their level of activity and return of movements they hadn’t realized were missing. Pets may again be able to jump onto the couch or bed, or do stairs, or jump in and out of the car without assistance. In some cases, lameness will even be improved or completely resolved. And did you know our pets can get headaches? Yes, chiropractic can even fix those, and it’s very obvious by how the pet behaves.
If you think your pet is healthy and doing fine, you might just schedule a chiropractic visit to make sure. You’ll be taking another step towards optimal health for your pet, and the results may surprise you!
Office Hour Changes:
Dr Leonard will be out of the office on the following dates: Friday, May 10 and 31; June 14, and June 28. Our staff will be in the office to assist you from 9-3 on these dates.
Just a reminder: if our office is open, but we aren’t answering the phone, it means we’re all busy working with a patient at the moment. Just call back in 10-15 minutes! Voice mail means the office is closed and Dr Leonard’s phone is picking up. Since she can’t make appointments or enter new patients without a computer, please save those calls for office hours.
