Spinal Adjustments

Just like us, our dogs and have vertebrae that form a spinal column to protect the spinal cord. This large nerve travels from the brain to the sacrum, with tendrils branching out to the body through openings in the vertebrae.

The word spine comes from the Greek word ‘spina' which means thorns, for the Greeks thought the bumps on people's backs looked like thorns.

Unlike us, our pet's spines form a bridge, which is suspended from their head down to their hips. Our spine sits on a plane that is vertical to the earth, rather than the horizontal position of our pets. No matter how our spines are oriented, we all occasionally get vertebrae, which go out of alignment because of mechanical stresses. We may be picking up heavy weights incorrectly, or twisting while lifting; our pets are jumping and playing and oftentimes very physical with each other. So many of my Doberman patients love to jump up and crash into each other in midair. Dachshunds have such a long back that gravity alone adds opportunity for injury. There is plenty of opportunity for injury, especially in working dogs such as; rescue dogs, police dogs and agility dogs.

When the vertebrae are not aligned, as they should be, the nerves that branch out often become compressed and this can be very painful. Additionally, chronic misalignment puts pressure on the discs that form a cushion between the vertebrae. Discs act as shock absorbers, so your dog's vertebrae won't bump into each other when he walks, jumps and plays. They are, in fact, jelly like fluid filled sacs. Displacements of the vertebrae that cause discs to bulge into the center of the spines canal can pinch the spinal cord and the nerves that branch out to the body from the spinal cord.

This will alter the flow of the vital communication between your dog's brain and body. If severe, it can also be a very painful experience for a dog and may even cause paralysis. A backache acts as a danger signal for people alerting them to a possible pinched nerve. A dog's back may hurt him, but he has no way to tell his owner. I have seen many Agility dogs and Rescue dogs that are not performing as they used to because they had a pinched nerve and pain in their spine. After an adjustment or two they return to their normal selves.

A spinal adjustment is simple to perform and our pets truly enjoy it. I recently saw a cat whose owner wanted a homeopathic remedy for general irritability, especially towards the other cat in the household. This fellow hissed and swatted whenever the other cat came near. A physical examination revealed that his back was very out of alignment. In fact, he had slept in a very strange and uneven position since experiencing a fall some time ago. One adjustment corrected the irritability and his sleeping position also returned to normal. The poor fellow was irritable because he was in chronic pain and was protecting his back by making sure the other cat did not play or pounce on him!

Dr. Khalsa does Spinal Manipulation for both pets and horses in New Zealand.