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The existence of the nervous system as the primary control mechanism of the body is an undisputed scientific fact.
Its relationship with the spine is the focus of the practice of chiropractic. The spine develops in utero to provide two primary functions:
- allow for freedom of movement
- house and protect the spinal cord
When the vertebrae of the spine become misaligned through trauma or repetitive injury, two major consequences will result:
- the range of motion becomes limited
- spinal nerves emerging from the spinal cord are compromised
Conversely, the removal of that interference has been shown to have significant, lasting health benefits.
Through the adjustment of the subluxation, your animal chiropractic practitioner aims to restore normal nerve expression. The body is then able to respond appropriately to any imbalance in the system, thus relieving symptoms and restoring health. This is referred to as the body's Innate Intelligence. |
The goal of Chiropractic Manipulation is to treat the Vertebral
Subluxation Complex (VSC) and to improve joint mobility. This
is a functional defect of a joint which causes neurologic signs,
or pain, that might not show up on an X-ray. The effects of VSC
can include mobility problems, muscle spasm, neurologic defects
and inflammation
Disease related to the spinal cord has traditionally been
treated with a combination of surgery and medication. Through
the use
of Animal Chiropractic, we now have another treatment modality to treat the spinal
cord, thus helping all the organs in the body
Chiropractic care is a noninvasive and non-painful way to dramatically minimize
the effects of spinal cord dysfunction. In most cases the improvement is so significant that we can diminish the
use of medications, sometimes even stopping them altogether. This page will
give
you a detailed explanation of the use of Animal Chiropractic at Cotswold Equine and Animal Therapies, New Zealand
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Spinal Cord Anatomy
The spinal cord is an extremely sensitive and complex part of the nervous system.
In essence, it is an extension of the brain. Subtle changes in pressure on
the spinal cord itself can cause significant changes in the body
The spinal cord is completely enclosed in bone for protection. To allow for movement,
and to allow nerve branches to leave the spinal cord, it is flexible and has
openings
This view of a spinal cord model is an end-on view of how the spinal cord fits
into the spinal canal. You can see how the spinal cord is enclosed by bone. If
it swells it has no place to expand into, resulting in serious damage to the
cord. This swelling can occur when VSC is presentThis picture greatly simplifies
the anatomy of this area. In reality, there are many blood vessels, nerves, muscles,
and connective tissure all around the spinal cord |
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This diagram shows some of the complexity that is
not so apparent in the simplified picture above. The Nerve Roots
(NR) above are the same thing as the Dorsal Nerve Root in the
picture below. The Spinal Cord (SC) in the picture above is the
semicircular area in the top left of the picture below. When a
vertebrae becomes subluxated (misaligned) it affects these nerve
roots and ganglia. This leads to the disease we call Vertebral
Subluxation Complex (VSC) |
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As the spinal cord moves from the brain down to
the tail it sends out nerve branches (called nerve roots- see
picture above) that go to various organs. These branches are part
of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The ANS is an extremely complex system of nervous connections that runs the length
of the spinal cord. Nerves that branch off from these connections innvervate
all the important organs in the body. The ANS performs it magic without your
conscious input
Here are a few examples of the many things the ANS does:
* Dilates your eyes when you are scared
* Increases your heart rate when you are scared
* Contracts your stomach to allow food to move into the intestines
* Stimulates your pancreas to secrete digestive enzymes into the small intestines
as food moves past
* Dilates or constricts blood vessels to the internal organs. This becomes an
important point when we treat diseases of internal organs like the kidneys.
In this picture you get a feel for the complexity of the ANS. As the nerve roots
leave a vertebral segment they form ganglia that innervate the internal organs.
This is how the VSC can affect internal organs
To use the diagram to the right, look at the middle of the thoracic vertebrae on the left.
Go to the right until you see the Celiac ganglion. A branch of this ganglion
innervate the kidneys. When the vertebrae in the middle of the thoracic area
have VSC, the kidneys can be affected
When treated with Chiropractic, the nerves that supply the kidneys with normal blood
flow become dilated. This increases blood flow to the kidneys, and helps them
if they are diseasedWhen the vertebrae in the picture above are misaligned only
slightly there can be significant disruption to the spinal cord and the nerve
roots as they leave the spinal cord. Correcting this problem is the goal of Chiropractic
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Vertebral Anatomy
The horse has 37 vertebrae:
* Cervical (neck)- 7
* Thoracic (chest) - 18
* Lumbar (lower back) - 6 (except in Arabs - 5)
* Sacral (pelvis) - 5 (fused)
The dog has 31 vertebrae:
* Cervical (neck)- 7
* Thoracic (chest) - 13
* Lumbar (lower back) - 7
* Sacral (pelvis) - 3 (fused)
The cat has 31 vertebrae:
* Cervical (neck)- 7
* Thoracic (chest) - 13
* Lumbar (lower back) - 7
* Sacral (pelvis) - 3 (fused)
Let's go on a tour of canine anatomy by looking
at overlapping radiographs:C-1 and C-2 are called the atlas and the axis. The
words atlas (holding up the world) and axis (what the world spins on) come from
Greek mythology. There can be an instability in this area in large dogs that
will cause neurologic problems. The cervical vertebrae are quite flexible, for
obvious reasons. VSC can occur in this area
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As the cervical vertebrae become the thoracic vertebrae
they go past the shoulder (S). The nerves that come off this cervical-thoracic
junction at the shoulder
are called the brachial plexus (you cannot see nerves on a plain radiograph).
They innervate the front legs on each side. Each of the thoracic vertebrae
corresponds to a rib (R) on each side of the chest |
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As we continue
down the thoracic vertebrae you can visualize how high their
dorsal spinal processes are. Also notice
how these processes start to get smaller as we get closer
to the lumbar vertebrae |
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Moving towards
the end of the thoracic vertebrae we come to what is termed
the thoracolumbar (T-L) junction. It
is a very common area to have VSC disease. As we pass into
the lumbar vertebrae we have now made our way into the lower
back |
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The 7 lumbar
vertebrae eventually lead into the sacral vertebrae (S). The
fused sacral vertebrae are hard to visualize
because they are within the pelvis. After the sacrum we are
at the tail |
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This side view
of a spinal cord model shows 2 vertebrae (V) with a normal
disk (D) in between. One of the nerve roots
(NR) can be seen coming off of the spinal cord (SC). You saw
this same picture, from a different angle, at the beginning
of this
page |
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To keep you oriented, this is the same area on a
radiograph (at L1-2). The nerve root comes out of the dark structure
that looks like a horse's head. The disk, nerve root, and spinal
cord do not show up normally on a radiograph. This is one of the
areas on a radiograph we look for VSC, although many times VSC
can be present and there are no radiographic changes. If radiographic
changes do occur, they can take months to years to become apparent
on a radiograph |
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Chiropractic Theory
Lets review some of the concepts we illustrated above. Alterations in the biomechanical or physiological dynamics of the joints of the vertebral column (called a subluxation because the bones are partially dislocated) cause spinal nerve dysfunction as the nerve roots leave the spinal cord. This is VSC.
The dysfunction it creates can lead to mobility problems in the joint, swelling and inflammation in the joint, or spasms of the muscles immediately around the vertebrae. The nerve root that has a dysfunction causes disease in many internal organs that are innervated by a particular nerve root.
The negative forces that caused the dysfunction in the first place are from trauma and environmental toxins.
Most pets have had significant trauma to their spinal canal since they were young. It comes in the form of playing with a Frisbee, jumping off or onto something, general play, and excessive running.
For some pets, going down stairs might be the biggest predisposing factor to subluxation. We recommend harnesses for most dogs since collars put extra strain on the neck and might predispose to VSC and reduced vertebral mobility.
In larger animals, such as horses, a simple stumble when out in the paddock or landing awkwardly when jumping can be enough to cause VSC.
If ground conditions are very wet & slippy this causes extra strain on the neuromusculoskeletal system. If the ground is very dry & hard and, like a polo pony, the horse is required to gallop, twist & turn on hard ground, the occurance of VSC is increased
In many cases, the changes in the vertebral column that surround the area of nerve dysfunction do not show any changes, and thus are normal on a radiograph. When radiographic changes of this nerve dysfunction are present, they occur long after the problem originated. In some cases the nerve dysfunction from the subluxation can be low-grade or intermittent, taking years to show up on a radiograph
At CEAT NZ we counteract nerve dysfunction by "re-setting" the joint with a gentle and painless manipulation. We are counteracting all of the negative forces that have built up on the spinal canal and its nerve roots over a period of time. The nerves in the area can begin acting normally again, which increases blood flow to internal organs, correcting many diseases. |
The arrow points to vertebral changes that occur secondary to nerve dysfunction.
In this radiograph the body is trying to stabilize a subluxated vertebrae by
laying down extra bone.
Unfortunately, these changes on the radiograph become apparent many months to
years after the initial incident that caused the nerve dysfunction. With Chiropractic
we now have a diagnostic and treatment capability to prevent these severe boney
changes from establishing themselves.
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Technique
The first thing we do is try to determine where in the spinal canal nerve dysfunction
is occurring
There are several ways to make this determination
Routine Diagnostic Tests
Every animal that is presented for a problem should have routine tests performed
after its examination. These tests may include a blood panel with thyroid test,
a urinalysis, a fecal sample for internal parasites, and radiographs of the spine. Not every animal with a disease has a vertebral subluxation causing nerve dysfunction.
There can be foreign bodies, infections, and even tumors causing problems.
The white area on this radiograph is a tumor, verifying the importance of taking
a radiograph before initiating treatment. This tumor is not treated with Chiropractic
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Neurologic Reflexes
There are several reflexes to help us pinpoint areas of subluxation causing nerve
dysfunction:
Panniculus Reflex
Animals have a muscle under the skin (the cutaneous trunci muscle) that allows
them to flinch their skin, unlike humans. This is a great advantage to them when
they want to rid their haircoat of pesky insects, but have no hands to scratch
with.
When the dorsal or lateral process of the bones of the vertebrae from T-3 to
L-6 have a dysfunction, the skin in the lower to mid back will flinch, indicating
a problem
Sometimes the problem is so apparent that just pushing gently on the spine in
this area will cause the skin to flinch. In many cases though, we need to gently
stimulate the area to elicit this response
We start at the vertebrae of the neck and work all the way back to the pelvic
bones, noting areas where there is muscle or skin movement. This movement
is also called a "read".
A positive read indicates an area of subluxation. These reads will change when
we actually treat the area, which is an indication that we are affecting a cure
Medications, particularly anti-arthritic medications will make it difficult to
interpret reads. If your pet can be taken off these medications without any serious
effects it will help make the reads more accurate.
Ear and Facial Reflexes
In the C-2 to T-10 area there is a reflex in animals that shows up as an ear
twitch.
Postural Reflexes
When an animal stands it maintains tone to the extensor muscles of the legs.
A spinal segment that has a problem will temporarily shut down the signal to
these extensor muscles when stimulated, causing a momentary change in posture.
This change can be very subtle, and might range from a yawn to a twitch, stumble,
collapse, or sign of pain. Sometimes the only indication of this response is
a subtle change in posture that is felt by the person holding the pet.
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