Ear Infections and Adjustments…Can it Help?

Something I’ve been quite intrigued with lately is the increasing number of ear aches and ear infections happening in the small domestic animals. In 25 years of having animals I cannot think of a single time where one of my little ones had an ear problem. Then again, growing up I’m not sure I would’ve known what to look for to know something was going on with my pet’s ears. After doing a little research, it’s fairly simple to tell when something isn’t quite right in the ear of an animal.

Common Signs Include:

Excessive ear scratching, colored discharge from the ear, loss of balance, dizziness, running into things, difficulty hearing, redness, swelling, etc.

As always when these are present it is important to see a veterinarian and decide a method of treatment. There are multiple options that include medication and holistic approaches. Some treat with oils, others with packing the ears, others with specific drugs, and then some just let the infection run its course. Regardless of what you choose it’s important to monitor the animal’s progress.

In humans, research has shown that chiropractic has a high success rate in helping to prevent and alleviate ear infections, especially in infants. Being aware of this I decided to compare the anatomy of these small animals to that of an infant. It appears that the anatomy is quite similar, with only a few minor exceptions regarding size and length of the canal itself. With that in mind, it would stand to reason that dogs and cats under chiropractic care could benefit from adjustments, especially while experiencing an ear infection.

My goal of course is to keep the animal as happy and healthy as possible so these ear infections can be avoided altogether. Unfortunately some of our pups are more prone to infection due to outer structure of the ear and activity level (lots of swimming…). The main point is to recognize that chiropractic is just one more option when it comes to alternative therapies for your animal experiencing an ear infection or those that tend to get them more often than not!