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As befits a truly holistic vet practice, a large proportion of our work is the treatment of back
problems in horses, back problems in dogs, back problems in cats and back work in other species. Many of our patients have
back pain or a back problem that has gone unnoticed, since the signs of back pain and neck pain can be subtle.
A
painful back or painful neck is often betrayed by difficulty in rising, tenderness over the hind quarters, tenderness over
the loins (lumbar region), difficulty in jumping, not jumping straight, not sitting straight, not tracking up, lying awkwardly,
not standing straight, not standing square, difficulty in getting up, high head carriage, moving eyes more than head (neck
pain), inability to raise head, hollow back, hunched back, arched back, scoliosis, pelvic misalignment, lateral tail carriage,
unsymmetrical work or uneven work (i.e. not bending to left or right or not working equally well on left rein or right
rein), incorrect jaw movement, wrong posture etc. Because our patients are quadrupeds, they also experience difficulty in
going down a steep slope or downhill.
Sadly, many cases
of spinal misalignment go unnoticed at a standard veterinary examination, since a deep study of back alignment issues is not
part of the training of veterinary students. Misalignment will even go unobserved on X-Ray examination, since any anomaly
is usually put down to incorrect positioning of the patient on the X-Ray plate. We regret this situation.
We give each patient a routine back check as part of a holistic examination. Correction
of any discovered back problem is then offered as an integral part of the natural vet treatment programme. The technique we
use most often is based on a very gentle form of chiropractic manipulation. We also use acupuncture, LASER, massage etc.
In horses, we also check the fit of
the saddle. Saddling and saddle fitting can be a source of pain and discomfort for the horse and great frustration for the
caring owner or rider, who can find it difficult to obtain the support needed. A holistic vet is in honour bound to check
anything that may cause pain or discomfort or impede healing.
We travel the UK, for the treatment of horse back problems. We perform treatment of dog back problems and cat back
problems at the AVMC premises, although house calls (home visits) can also be arranged for dogs, cats and
other species.
Although a back problem can arise anywhere
along the axial skeletal system, regions of most stress are: temporomandibular joint, atlanto-occipital joint, cervical-thoracic
junction, thoracolumbar junction, lumbosacral junction and pelvic alignment.
Christopher Day - holistic vet, acupuncture vet, natural
vet, homeopathic vet, herbal vet and chiropractic vet.
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