Chiropractic care is an excellent way to prevent and treat joint degeneration in your pet. Proper vertebral alignment keeps the body from shifting into unhealthy positions to compensate for joint pain caused by injury or degeneration.
Regular manual orthopedic manipulation, especially with large and giant breed dogs, will help keep the musculoskeletal system from degenerating as the aging process occurs. It can also help keep your pet moving comfortably throughout her whole life.
Dogs with floating kneecaps can benefit greatly from chiropractic adjustments to keep the hips and knees in alignment and to help prevent the condition from progressing.
Dogs with hip dysplasia can avoid compensating injuries through chiropractic adjustments as well.
Some pets with urinary incontinence are helped by chiropractic adjustments, and I have seen many cases in my practice of improved bladder tone and neurologic function through maintenance chiropractic care.
If your pet has been injured, a veterinary chiropractor can help realign the spine to avoid compensating injuries from occurring in addition to the underlying primary injury.
If your pet has had surgery with general anesthesia, I always recommend a visit to the veterinary chiropractor afterwards to realign a body that has potentially been flopping or jerking around while the animal was anesthetized.
I also recommend maintenance chiropractic care proactively for all my patients to reduce the risk of injury and joint degeneration. This is especially good for puppies and kittens because they are ‘loose’ – their joints are not yet completely formed. Their bones are still growing and they’re prone to subluxations.