Stabilizing Your Dog’s Spine

Your dog came to us in pain and limping, but after a few adjustments looks great.  This is awesome news, but now what?  As animal chiropractors, we definitely want to get your pet out of pain.  Additionally, we want to stabilize the spine so that your pet’s body resists breaking down and dealing with recurring problems.  How do we do this?  It requires more intensive care up front and periodic adjustments mixed with rehab exercises after they are out of pain.  How often should your dog be seen then?  Read on to find out.

How often should your dog be seen to stabilize its spine?

Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all answer for this question.  It depends on the age, the problem, overall health, and more.  However, the one thing we know is that it typically takes more care initially that tapers off as the dog improves.

Think about your dog’s spine like the foundation of your house.  If the foundation is off, you would expect to see the walls crack, doors not close properly, and numerous other problems – right?  The spine is very similar.  When it is off, you may see muscles spasm, pain, limping and more.  To stabilize the spine, it takes a bit more work up front.  One or two adjustments may help get your dog out of pain but it isn’t necessarily stabilizing the foundation that is their spine.  It would be like patching the roads in Michigan rather than addressing the underlying primary problem.  The issue just keeps reappearing over and over.  However, with a bit more care up front and some rehabilitation exercises, we can deal with the major/primary problem that is causing all of the other secondary problems.

There are rehab exercises to help stabilize a dog’s spine?

The answer is emphatically yes!  It is a relatively new field when it comes to animals, but it is also an effective one.  Adjustments deal with the structural issues in your dog’s spine – kind of like the load bearing beams in your house.  These beams are essential for holding a house up.  However, the house is much more than just the primary beams.  There are kickers, molding, dry wall and much more than reinforce the integrity of the house – kind of like muscles.  When a dog has strong core musculature and limb strength, it reinforces the support beams.

As you can see, the spine is the foundation of your dog’s body.  We want to keep it strong and stable, so that your pet stays healthy and can function as close to optimal as possible.  When pet’s come to see us, our main goal with care is to get them out of pain.  However, we also want to keep them that way.  That can be done with a bit more care up front and some rehab exercises.  Want to learn more?  Contact us here and/or sign up for our newsletter!