Does your dog have hip problems?
I have had the opportunity to help some animals at the local shelters. Brutis, a Mastiff, has been a particularly interesting case. I have been seeing him now for several months. Originally, Brutis was turned over to the shelter due to his deteriorating hip dysplasia and the owners felt like they couldn’t take care of him anymore. Brutis has almost no hip joints whatsoever and he is a LARGE boy(big body and muscle). I saw him for the first time around February and it was obvious he was in a lot of pain. His foster mom described that he was on several anti-inflammatory medications and some pain medications. Brutis got around mostly on his front legs, dragging or bunny hopping with his rear. Along with the hip dysplasia he was dealing with arthritis in his rear knees. I have treated some animals with varying levels of hip problems, most have pretty successful outcomes some don’t, but Brutis was by far the most severe. Once I examined him and read the veterinarians notes we decided that if we were going to see any results we needed to be aggressive with frequency of care. Research shows that in chronic pain cases much more frequent adjusting is required due to the bodies ability to reform scar tissue and adhesions in a short period. I also wanted to stimulate his spinal nerves and the muscles that support the hips as much as I could. I started seeing him 3 times a week, within the first month Brutis’s foster mom reported that he wasn’t having trouble eating anymore and I learned that he had been hand fed due to a history of digestive problems that seemed to improve greatly as he started care. The other thing that we began to see was Brutis was no longer bunny hopping, he actually began to use his rear end like a normal dog and had motion that resembled a normal gait, he was playing more at home and was following his foster mom around the house. Brutis began to hold the adjustments longer and we began to slow down the frequency of the treatments to the point where I am treating him once a month. Brutis has put on muscle in his rear legs, he is hunting squirrels at home, going up and down stairs, moving in and out of the car, all activities that I wasn’t sure he would ever be able to do again. You never know how much success you will achieve in any patient but the great thing about chiropractic care is that it is gentle, improves muscles tone and reactivity, breaks up scar tissue and soft tissue adhesions and promotes internal healing through specific stimulation of the nervous system and the brain. If anyone is looking for a great dog with a loving personality that needs a permanent home let me know and I will put you in touch with the right people.
Yours in health,
Dr. Nelson
June 28th, 2010 at 6:57 PM
Not too many people have considered that alternative. I appreciate you raising this important point in such a relevant way.
September 10th, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Thanks for this usefull information.