Vol. 4, No. 10, October 2007
RSS Feeds
Pain Therapy
Methods for easing your pet’s pain
Pain. We all know it, and so do our pets.
There are two general categories of pain, acute and chronic. Acute pain is associated with post-surgical procedures, injury and broken bones, while chronic pain usually comes with old-age conditions such as arthritis or disc disease.
Owners associate pain in older animals by saying, “Oh, he’s just getting old,” or “She can’t jump up on the couch anymore.” While most pets do not vocalize it, these are signs of chronic pain. Other indicators are weak hind legs that collapse, or cats that won’t let you brush near their tails. To draw attention to the painful area, a pet will lick at that spot constantly, causing discoloration and/or sores. This occurs most commonly on dog’s legs and on a cat’s back.
Advancements in pain medications have been rapid over the past few years. Many drugs now on the market, such as Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Zubrin and Metacam, are helpful to most pets. Many pain remedies are synergistic, meaning that two different pain medications given together are often more effective than either alone.
For chronic pain, combinations of different classes of drugs work best. Since chronic pain originates in the central nervous system, drugs that affect brain chemicals work best. A new medication for chronic pain is Tramadol.
Alternative Pain Therapies
Today, many people are turning away from drugs due to side effects and the desire to use natural therapies. Alternative medicine for pets includes homeopathy, herbal therapies, acupuncture and physical therapy.
Physical therapy involves massage, heat and cold therapy, water therapy and chiropractic. The same outcomes of physical therapy in humans following injury or surgery benefit animals as well.
Laser pain therapy is used to treat arthritis, muscle pulls and chronic spasms, ligament/tendon injuries, sprains and strains, ulcerations and open wounds, lick granulomas, and post-surgical and soft-tissue trauma. The new “Class 4” laser was developed specifically to deal with pain, swelling, injury repair and healing, using unique properties and frequency.
The laser works by penetrating deep tissues and thus into joints, whereas cold lasers only treat the surface.
Pain relief, relaxation of muscles and local anesthesia, as well as the treatment of many internal diseases, are all effective results of
acupuncture, which is the science of stimulating specific neurological points in the body.
If the problem is a muscle spasm,
homeopathic remedies such as Spascopreel can be the answer. Acute trauma, swelling and pain can be treated using a homeopathic remedy such as Traumeel. Each of these homeopathic remedies is specific for the condition being treated, and thus is more helpful to the animal, especially when combining treatments.
Another option is
mesotherapy, which is the painless injection of vitamins, minerals and/or homeopathic medications under the surface of the animal’s skin. Mesotherapy treatments can benefit those patients suffering from muscle spasms, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, among other conditions.
Prolotherapy or proliferative therapy, also known as ligament reconstructive therapy, is a recognized human orthopedic procedure that stimulates the body's natural healing processes to strengthen joints weakened by trauma or arthritis. When joints weaken or ligaments and tendons are stretched, torn or fragmented they become hyper-mobile and painful for your pet. Traditional approaches with anti-inflammatory drugs and surgery often fail to stabilize the joint and relieve pain permanently. Prolotherapy directly addresses the cause and repairs the weakened sites, resulting in permanent stabilization of the joints.
