Research Articles

Chiropractic from a Veterinary Standpoint

Over the last few decades the idea of chiropractic care has been difficult for the veterinarian to understand and accept. It has been difficult for the veterinarian to imagine how the huge frame of the equine can be manipulated in so much as an adjustment, when radiographically the frame of the horse in impenetrable.

There was a number of charlatans who were claiming great results, who did nothing to promote the profession in the eyes of the vets. Within the last few years, however, a few specialists have perfected chiropractic care for horses in such a manner that the veterinary profession is taking a fresh look. There are many documented cases where chiropractic manipulation of a horse was a welcomed therapeutic measure that brought relief where everything else had failed.

The founders of the Options 4 Animals course in the US have put a lot of the emphasis in their lecturing into not only what to treat but more fundamentally what to refer, and then how to incorporate chiropractic care into the veterinary practice. It was stated by Dr Sharon Willoughby, DVM, (founder of Options 4 Animals) that chiropractic was invaluable in detecting and treating gait abnormalities and other performance problems in the athletic horse. She said that chiropractic adjustments in the horse do alleviate pain from the back and the neck. She reported that some nerve damage, such as pressure on the sciatic nerve, respond well to adjustments.

Another use of chiropractic in the horse is at the pre-purchase phase of the horse. There are chiropractic techniques which can help identify horses that have chronic back and neck problems, as well as assess the potential that a horse may have for success in a particular endeavour.

Willoughby said that chiropractors deal almost exclusively with the pathologies and dysfunction created by vertebral subluxations, but that the traditional veterinary definition of a subluxation as an incomplete or partial dislocation is not an accurate definition of the vertebral subluxation as described in chiropractic.

Leach defines the chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex as:

Nevertheless, Willoughby said that subluxations may alter neurological function of the spinal cord, the spinal nerve roots, and portions of the autonomic nervous system. Altered nerve transmission is caused by pressure or traction on a nerve, changes in cerebralspinal fluid flow, vascular flow to neural tissues, or alteration in axoplasmic flow.

Willoughby stated that the adjusting skill depend on an in depth knowledge of vertebral anatomy, it is imperative that the practitioner must know vertebral joint relationships, the location and orientation of osseous processes, the relationship of neural components, muscle attachments and nerve supply, vertebral joint anatomy, and normal and abnormal range of motion.

The equine vertebral column is a flexible structure that permits the horse to perform in a wide variety of athletic endeavours, such as lowering the head, arching the back, and lateral bending. Spinal movements consist of flexion – extension, axial rotation and lateral flexion. The vertebral column is also subject to movements and forces from compression, tension, vertical sheer and horizontal sheer.

Some of the signs that indicate a problem during the posture analysis are: lordosis, kyphosis, scoliosis, abnormal foot placement, and abnormal head and neck position. Gait analysis in chiropractic is mostly a visual observation of the horse moving, observing for lameness and such indicators as hiking one hip, short stride, rope walking, unstable hocks, stumbling, toe grab, ataxia, weakness and shortened stride.

Motion palpation is part of the physical examination that is specific and often exclusive to chiropractic. The vertebral joints are assessed for a normal and abnormal range of motion. The examiner is looking for fixations or hypermobility between the segments. Abnormal vertebral joint relationships are key in the vertebral subluxations complex. Hypermobile segments are also significant during this examination.

Very few people are qualified to the Veterinary Chiropractic standards in the UK. Yet education and experience is essential for proper chiropractic manipulation. This is the reason it is so important to carefully consider who is doing any chiropractic care you want for your patients. Chiropractic offers the equine veterinarian a unique analysis and treatment alternative.

Taken from Equine Chiropractic Care by William E Jones, DVM