Includes added content referencing animal chiropractic
Relating aging care approaches for humans to aging cats, Narda Robinson, DO, DVM, MS, FAAMA, shares why integrative geriatrics using patient-centered, primarily non-pharmacological approaches makes sense for felines in their twilight years.
The practice of integrative geriatrics is rooted in lifestyle interventions, such as nutrition, movement therapies and other approaches that allow patients to have different paths to their healthcare; one that utilizes pharmaceuticals and invasive procedures only when safer integrative approaches are not available or not effective.” – Narda Robinson, DO, DVM, MS, FAAMA
Robinson shares various multimodal approaches used for mobility issues, chronic pain and lingering diseases in older cats asserting these give pet owners flexibility in trying treatments and seeing what works. Medical acupuncture, massage and photo-biomodulation therapy are used frequently alone or in combination, she says. More recently, pulsed electromagnetic field, or PEMF therapy, has provided geriatric cats with another non-invasive, non-thermal treatment that controls pain, promotes tissue healing and reduces inflammation.
NOTE: Robinson’s overview of multimodal intervention does not mention animal chiropractic. We asked William Ormston, DVM, aka Dr. O, to add a chiropractic perspective on this topic*.
Chiropractic care will improve the nervous system’s ability to coordinate the healing process, reduce the likelihood and frequency of injury, and promote full healing, all very important to the geriatric cat.” – Dr. O
Source: Veterinary Practice News, August 8, 2023. Link. As cats’ needs evolve over time, so, too, can interventions veterinary practitioners select.
Source: *Animal Chiropractic Education, William Ormston, DVM. Dr. O’s website <Link>.
Animal chiropractic assumes that every living body, including geriatric cats, has some innate intelligence. It is about total health and well-being and about helping animals to feel great and get the most out of life by functioning at their optimum potential.
AC is a health care discipline that emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. In practice, AC focuses on the relationship between structure, primarily the spine, and function, as coordinated by the nervous system and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.
The objectives of AC care are to improve function, reduce pain and muscle spasms, optimize performance and stimulate neurological reflexes, such as improving speed and accuracy of movement. Chiropractic care will improve the nervous system’s ability to coordinate the healing process, reduce the likelihood and frequency of injury, and promote full healing, all very important to the geriatric cat.