Last Updated on September 7, 2023 by Dr. Alisha Barnes
While choosing the right Veterinarian for wellness visits can feel overwhelming, that process can become even more stressful when your dog or cat is in pain. When your pet is in pain, it can be a struggle to know which option is best to care for them. One option many pet owners don’t know is available to them is an animal chiropractor. For a pet that is experiencing pain from mobility issues, chiropractic care may be the best option. While a veterinarian may prescribe pain medication or surgery, an animal chiropractor can adjust your pet to relieve pain and help with mobility without invasive surgery or expensive medications. It is essential to know the difference between what care a Veterinarian provides your animal versus what care Pet Chiropractor provides.
The difference between Veterinarian versus Pet Chiropractor
A Veterinarian provides your pet with both wellness care and emergency care to fix a current health problem. They focus on fixing or relieving ailments with medication or medical surgery. Veterinarians deal with issues with a pet’s vital systems. A few things ( not limited to the following) that a pet owner should always contact a Veterinarian about first if they see them in their animal. Things like fever, lethargy, difficulty breathing, blood in urine or stool, not drinking water for 24 hours, unusual stool, vomiting, sudden weight loss, trauma and/or open wounds, hard swollen abdomen, seizures, potential contact with toxins or poison. These are all things that could require more care than an Animal Chiropractor has access to or that they can treat. It is important to always watch for changes in your pet and understand what is normal and abnormal for them. A pet owner should bring their animal to the Veterinarian for yearly checkups and wellness visits. Still, a vet visit isn’t the only solution to certain issues your pet may be experiencing.
An Animal Chiropractor may be a great resource to have for your pet. Like annual wellness visits and checkups at the Veterinarian are a great way to keep your pet healthy, so are visits to the Chiropractor. Animal chiropractic care, just like its human counterpart, looks at the body as an integrated system and treats the underlying problem that is causing the symptoms your pet is feeling. If your pet needs chiropractic care, you will most likely notice mobility issues, stiffness, changes in mood, and other signs that they are in pain. Whether you bring your pet in for Chiropractic care to fix a health issue or for a regular wellness visit, the Chiropractor will look at how the musculoskeletal system impacts the nervous system. They will improve areas of joint dysfunction (where the joints are not moving correctly), to improve the systems that neurologically connect with that joint system.
Caring for your pet is much more than daily walks and picking the right food; it’s also knowing the options for health care. The more you know, the better you can decide what care is best for them. Whether bringing them to a veterinarian or to a pet chiropractor, you care for their wellness, and they will love you for it.