The History of Chiropractic Care for Dogs

History

• Though spinal manipulation has been practiced among many cultures for centuries, there is a little historical documentation on when exactly it first appeared in veterinary care. A 1944 writing by B.J. Palmer, developer of human chiropractics and son of chiropractic founder D.D. Palmer, corroborates that chiropractic manipulation was performed on animals very early in the chiropractic profession. Animals were utilized to prove chiropractic principles applied to all vertebrates.

American Veterinary Chiropractic Association

• D.D. Palmer presented the first Doctor of Veterinary Chiropractic certificates as early as 1905, though formal training in this specialized field didn't evolve until the mid 1980s. Dr. Sharon Willoughby, DVM, opened the first school dedicated solely to veterinary chiropractics in 1985. That same year, the First Annual Animal Chiropractic Conference was held in Georgia. Dr. Willoughby held a short course on equine chiropractic in 1986, from which the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA) was borne.

Certification

• The primary mission of the AVCA was to prove animal chiropractic as a recognized medical discipline. In its infancy, the association faced tremendous obstacles. The AVCA, with assistance from highly credentialed veterinary and chiropractic professionals, created an educational curriculum, research studies and practice standards. All of this took place as the AVCA fought mounting opposition from disapproving antagonists in the veterinary and human chiropractic fields.

  To administer chiropractic treatment in North America, the chiropractor or veterinarian must be certified by the AVCA as an Animal Chiropractor (Doctor of Chiropractic with AVCA certification), Veterinarian Certified in Animal Chipropractic (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with AVCA certification), or a Veterinary Chiropractor (Doctor of Chiropractic and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). This specific training ensures practitioners are educated and knowledgeable of chiropractic theories, animal anatomy, biomechanics and neuromusculoskeletal function. The level of certification determines how treatment may be performed; either supervised or unsupervised.

Chiropractic Benefits

• As with any chiropractic treatment, canine chiropractic patients benefit from its drug-free and non-invasive therapy. Typical treatment is based on spinal adjustment and manipulation. Prior to chiropractic care, a dog should receive thorough neurological, stance, gait and motion examinations, in addition to a complete veterinary check for the chiropractor to create an appropriate treatment plan. Regular chiropractic care is used in treating canine orthopedic conditions, as well as neurological, biomechanical and geriatric symptoms.

Subluxation

• Subluxations, or vertebral misalignments, in dogs may be caused by stress, conformation faults, excessive confinement, injury, poor diet, and several other situations, which interfere with the proper function of the animal's nervous system. Subluxation may or not cause pain, though other symptoms include lameness, desire to not be touched, reduced energy level, stiffness, weakness, dragging hind legs or incontinence. After complete examination, the chiropractor decides which modalities are most appropriate for relieving the dog's discomfort.