Chiropractic Care for the Elderly Dog and Cat by Steven S. Fries, Animal Chiropractor

Would your elderly dog or cat benefit from chiropractic care? Do you notice that your 10-year old dog is not running as far as she used to?  Does your cat hesitate before jumping up on the couch?  Perhaps your pet appears stiff right after awakening.

While growing older is inevitable, so are certain skeletal disorders, like osteoarthritis.  Just like us, dogs and cats often suffer from painful and disabling arthritic conditions. 

Joints, which in health are glassy smooth and surrounded with fluid, often lose their cartilage surface and become rough with calcium deposits.  This can result from poor nutrition, unusual overuse (such as those of a dog who works or competes in sports), old injuries, and chronic misalignment (subluxation) of joints- which is where I come in!

Signs that your pet may be suffering from misaligned or subluxated joints include: 

-Stiffness when getting up from a laying position

-Reluctance to sit squarely on haunches

-Crying or snapping when the back is touched

-Limping without a known medical condition

-One hip appearing higher than another

-Walking differently than usual

-Holding the head to one side, or being unable to bring the head up or down

-Arching the back

-Hesitation on jumping

-Weakening in the hind limbs

-Worsening of signs with cool or stormy weather.

All of these signs can result from subluxations. These cause joints  to lose their normal mobility, often becoming more restricted in motion.  The signals to the brain become altered- these are  necessary to coordinate the gait and posture of  our pets.  Eventually, the joints become stabilized by calcium deposition (which is part of the changes  associated with osteoarthritis). 

Chiropractic care is aimed at correcting joint immobility in elderly dogs and cats before the disorder develops.  Chiropractic has been used successfully on the human patient for over one hundred years now.  For over  10 years, I have treated thousands of cats and dogs, working with the veterinarians at Wilmington Animal Hospital. The improvements we can accomplish are very rewarding, restoring a better quality of life to many of our beloved pets. For more information on chiropractic, visit: http://wilmingtonanimalhospital.com/services_chiropractic.php. You can read more about me on: http://wilmingtonanimalhospital.com/veterinarians.php.  Appointments can be made at the Wilmington Animal Hospital by calling Dr. Fries' at (215) 629-8311.

References:

American Chiropractic Association 442154 E. 140 Road   Bluejacket, OK 74333

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Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies.  203-8941 Lake Drive Cape Canaveral, FL 32920.

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Healing Oasis Wellness Center 2555 Wisconsin St.  Sturtevant, WI 53177-1825.

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Postural Rehabilitation @ Maximum Horsepower, LLC 305 Nottingham Road  Nottingham, PA 19362.

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