Animal Chiropractic: Helping animals with spinal problems Monday, May 4, 2015, 12:02 pm John Kennett jkennett@mdn.net Running half marathons can be tough on the body, as Dr. Jocelynn Jacobs has experienced. To help alleviate the discomfort, the veterinarian turned to chiropractic for help, which has led to the owner of Countryside Animal Health Center providing chiropractic care for her four-legged patients.
“I have found that chiropractic has really helped me to run my races with my back,” Jacobs said. “I started going to (local chiropractor) Dr. James Dorais and was having such great success. I said, ‘My dogs that are my performance dogs, they are agility dogs. They could really benefit from this.’”
Human chiropractic and animal chiropractic have some similarities.
“In human chiropractic you have multiple types of chiropractic: Segmental, postural and tonal,” Jacobs said. “We work on the segmental section, so it is more bio-mechanical. All animal chiropractic is based on bio-mechanics.”
However, there are many differences between patients.
“You have to be certified in order to do any animal chiropractic, because you learn all the species and have to understand them because they have a different number of vertebrae,” the graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University said. “Their angles are completely different.”
Responses from patients can be also be different.
“When humans get adjusted they may say, ‘I feel like I’m a little better,’” Jacobs said. “Dogs and cats don’t lie. Sometimes we see responses right in the exam room within a few minutes. Or, they’ll start to jump up or sit up straight.”
The Countryside Animal Health Center, at 3334 Freeland Road, sees about five to seven dogs per week with back or neck problems.
“All I had in my arsenal, being a veterinarian, was anti-inflammatories or cortisone,” Jacobs said. “That is great for decreasing inflammation, but not if you have something that is a misalignment of the spinal cord.”
How do owners recognize when their pet is in need of chiropractic help?
“Simple things like not sitting straight,” said Jacobs. “If you have a dog that is sitting off to the side just slightly, instead of sitting straight up, that tells me its pelvis isn’t right. He has got some kind of fixation or his pelvis is locked up. Or it might be lower back, too.”
Observing how dogs go to the bathroom can be important.
“When it is pooping, does it walk and poop? If it not getting in that pooping stance and staying there the entire time, I can guarantee you the pelvis is off. If they are walking and pooping that means they can’t stay in that stance very long because it hurts or the lower back is hurting,” Jacobs said.
Dogs with mid-to-lower back problems may no longer jump up on the couch or bed. Or, might be reluctant to go up stairs.
“When you are dealing with neck pain or severe back pain, you’ll see that they will be reluctant to turn their head one way or the other,” Jacobs said. “Or, they don’t want to put their head down quite as much.”
Muscle mass may be another sign.
“If they don’t have very much muscle mass, especially in the back of the dog’s leg or foot, if that is all flabby or mushy and there is nothing there, than the back and pelvis have not been working for a long time,” Jacobs said.
To specialize in the animal chiropractic, Jacobs attended the Veterinary Chiropractic Learning Centre in Ontario, one of five in the world that offer a degree.
“There are three in the U.S., one in Canada and also one in Germany,” Jacobs said. “I decided to go to Canada because it is the closest.”
To complete, the course took seven months of concentrated study, as Jacobs headed to Ontario once a month for a week.
“It was like going back to vet school all over again,” Jacobs said.
The field of animal chiropractic is fairly new, starting, in 1988, when Dr. Sharon Willoughby, a veterinarian, began investigating alternatives to
Animal Chiropractic: Helping animals with spinal problems Monday, May 4, 2015, 12:02 pm John Kennett jkennett@mdn.net Running half marathons can be tough on the body, as Dr. Jocelynn Jacobs has experienced. To help alleviate the discomfort, the veterinarian turned to chiropractic for help, which has led to the owner of Countryside Animal Health Center providing chiropractic care for her four-legged patients.
“I have found that chiropractic has really helped me to run my races with my back,” Jacobs said. “I started going to (local chiropractor) Dr. James Dorais and was having such great success. I said, ‘My dogs that are my performance dogs, they are agility dogs. They could really benefit from this.’”
Human chiropractic and animal chiropractic have some similarities.
“In human chiropractic you have multiple types of chiropractic: Segmental, postural and tonal,” Jacobs said. “We work on the segmental section, so it is more bio-mechanical. All animal chiropractic is based on bio-mechanics.”
However, there are many differences between patients.
“You have to be certified in order to do any animal chiropractic, because you learn all the species and have to understand them because they have a different number of vertebrae,” the graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University said. “Their angles are completely different.”
Responses from patients can be also be different.
“When humans get adjusted they may say, ‘I feel like I’m a little better,’” Jacobs said. “Dogs and cats don’t lie. Sometimes we see responses right in the exam room within a few minutes. Or, they’ll start to jump up or sit up straight.”
The Countryside Animal Health Center, at 3334 Freeland Road, sees about five to seven dogs per week with back or neck problems.
“All I had in my arsenal, being a veterinarian, was anti-inflammatories or cortisone,” Jacobs said. “That is great for decreasing inflammation, but not if you have something that is a misalignment of the spinal cord.”
How do owners recognize when their pet is in need of chiropractic help?
“Simple things like not sitting straight,” said Jacobs. “If you have a dog that is sitting off to the side just slightly, instead of sitting straight up, that tells me its pelvis isn’t right. He has got some kind of fixation or his pelvis is locked up. Or it might be lower back, too.”
Observing how dogs go to the bathroom can be important.
“When it is pooping, does it walk and poop? If it not getting in that pooping stance and staying there the entire time, I can guarantee you the pelvis is off. If they are walking and pooping that means they can’t stay in that stance very long because it hurts or the lower back is hurting,” Jacobs said.
Dogs with mid-to-lower back problems may no longer jump up on the couch or bed. Or, might be reluctant to go up stairs.
“When you are dealing with neck pain or severe back pain, you’ll see that they will be reluctant to turn their head one way or the other,” Jacobs said. “Or, they don’t want to put their head down quite as much.”
Muscle mass may be another sign.
“If they don’t have very much muscle mass, especially in the back of the dog’s leg or foot, if that is all flabby or mushy and there is nothing there, than the back and pelvis have not been working for a long time,” Jacobs said.
To specialize in the animal chiropractic, Jacobs attended the Veterinary Chiropractic Learning Centre in Ontario, one of five in the world that offer a degree.
“There are three in the U.S., one in Canada and also one in Germany,” Jacobs said. “I decided to go to Canada because it is the closest.”
To complete, the course took seven months of concentrated study, as Jacobs headed to Ontario once a month for a week.
“It was like going back to vet school all over again,” Jacobs said.
The field of animal chiropractic is fairly new, starting, in 1988, when Dr. Sharon Willoughby, a veterinarian, began investigating alternatives to pharmaceuticals.
For more information regarding animal chiropractic and Countryside Animal Health Center, call (989) 695-2200 or visit countryside-animal.com.
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