Alternative Therapies, Part 1

In case you missed our seminar last month on the role of alternative therapies in the management of our senior pets, we will be reviewing the information covered in a series over the next few weeks.

“Alternative therapies” refers to complementary options for treating our pets that typically does not use drugs or traditional medical approaches.  These alternatives are often used in conjunction with traditional methods and can sometimes be used to decrease the dose or frequency needed for pain medications.  These are also used for animals in which their current pain management protocol is not meeting their needs, or where certain drugs are not well-tolerated.  Some of the most commonly used therapies in the canine rehabilitation area are:
•    Hydrotherapy
•    Acupuncture
•    Massage
•    Therapeutic exercises
•    Modalities such as electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, and laser therapy

The general approach of rehabilitation is to first perform an evaluation of the animal to determine their functional status and establish goals.  This evaluation is similar to the wellness exam given by your regular veterinarian, but focuses more on identifying its musculoskeletal and/or neurologic abnormalities.  It is, however, very important to have regular wellness exams performed by your regular veterinarian to rule out diseases which can often look like musculoskeletal problems to the untrained eye.  For example, dogs with hypothyroidism may show signs of lethargy and weight gain, which can often be mistaken simply as “old age” or inactivity due to arthritis, etc.  It is very important to have any concurrent diseases diagnosed and controlled prior to beginning a rehabilitation program in order to have the best outcome.

Another important part of the evaluation is to discuss and establish goals for the patient.  The owner’s abilities and needs are one of the most important factors to take into consideration when setting goals.  Sometimes these goals are based on needs from a functional standpoint, such as an owner who needs their pet to be able to go up and down stairs to get outside or to a bedroom.  Other common goals are simply to help control pain, improve quality of life, and improve mobility.

The last part of the evaluation is to work with the owner to form a treatment plan to include both in-clinic treatments and a home exercise plan.  This plan is very unique to each situation and takes into consideration not only the findings from our exam, but also the needs and abilities of the owner.  For example, our plan will be very different for pet owners with time restrictions or physical disabilities, than for those who are able to contribute more time to a home program.

Next week, we will be looking further into goal setting more specifically and begin looking at treatment options for achieving these goals.  If you have any questions or are interested in scheduling an evaluation for your pet, please give us a call at (970) 330-7283.  Stay tuned for part 2!