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What is Veterinary Chiropractic Care?
Veterinary Chiropractic Care is essentially the same as Chiropractic Care for humans. It is a safe, effective form of treatment which aims to identify areas where the pet's body is not working properly. These areas are then assessed to see whether chiropractic care is appropriate.
If appropriate, veterinary chiropractic treatment will involve spinal adjustments as well as soft tissue treatments such as myofascial release, trigger point therapy, tissue stretching, cranio-sacral therapy and a whole host of other techniques.
All techniques need to be performed gently to maintain the trust and relaxation of the patient, who probably doesn't know what is going on, at least to start with. Most patients quickly learn to trust Dr Haines and relax, many often almost seem to go to sleep. In some cases other treatments, such as acupuncture, medications, or surgery are appropriate with Chiropractic care, or instead of it. In some cases, further investigation is required, eg Xrays.
Once the dysfunctional area has been treated, the pet's body is then given time to adapt to the improved function, and heal itself. This may be very quick, if the problem is recent and not too severe, or it may be a slower process if the problem is profound and/or has been there for a long time. In this case, repeat treatments may be required. Does My Pet Need Veterinary Chiropractic Care? * Does your pet look stiff at all?
* Does your pet have trouble getting up or lying down? * Does your pet tire more quickly than it used to? * Does your pet play less than it used to? * Does your pet yelp or whimper sometimes? * Has your pet stopped grooming some areas of its body? * Does your pet put off going to the toilet for as long as possible? * Has your pet stopped stretching front and back when it gets up? * Does your pet avoid you grooming some parts of its body? * Does your pet have trouble getting comfortable to rest? * Has your pet become bad tempered or aggressive? * Does your pet have trouble sitting "square"? * Does your pet tend to sit with legs to one side? * Does your pet limp? * Does your pet have a skin problem in a confined area of its body? * Does your pet lick or chew at an area of its body? * Has your pet's posture changed? If you answered Yes to any of these questions, it would be worth having your pet checked over.
Who can provide Veterinary Chiropractic Care? Practitioners performing Chiropractic work on animals should be qualified to do so. In the past there has been a huge gap in this area, and many non qualified people have been called animal Chiropractors.
Now, it is possible to access a fully qualified Veterinary Chiropractic Practitioner. Although numbers are still small in Australia, it is a rapidly growing field.
RMIT University in Melbourne runs the most comprehensive training program in Animal Chiropractic in the world. Only registered Veterinarians, Chiropractors and Osteopaths are eligible to undertake this training, and achieve a Graduate Diploma, or go on to a Masters degree.
A huge benefit of this course is the cross fertilisation of ideas between the three professions. Veterinarians learn from the enormous skills of the chiropractors and osteopaths. The vets share their extensive experience to ensure that the human trained professionals can safely transfer their skills to animals. These 3 groups have worked together and exchanged ideas to evolve a system of care for animals which is very sound now, but is expanding and developing constantly.
Dr Kate Haines Dr Kate Haines has been interested in Chiropractic Care for Animals since soon after graduation as a veterinarian in 1984.
In 1994 she started to develop this interest by attending a week long workshop on Chiropractic care for horses, followed by another on dogs a few months later. She was aware of the potential importance of Chiropractic for animals, but also aware of her need for further formal training. She completed the certification requirements for the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in 1995.
In 1998, RMIT University started its world first 2 year program in Animal Chiropractic and Dr Haines was part of the first group to complete the Graduate Diploma program.
In 2000, Dr Haines studied hard, completing a project on spinal function in endurance horses, and gained her Masters degree. She was the first in the world to complete the requirements for this qualification, and attained a distinction for her work.
Dr Haines is now a principal lecturer in the ongoing RMIT Animal Chiropractic program., and has presented widely on the benefits of Animal Chiropractic care. She is also secretary of the newly formed Australian Veterinary Chiropractic Association.
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