Chiropractic Care
WHAT IS VETERINARY ORTHOPEDIC MANIPULATION?
Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation (VOM) is a healing technology that locates areas of the animal’s nervous system that have fallen out of communication and re-establishes nerve communication, which induces healing. A tool called a spinal accelerometer, also known as an activator, is used to apply controlled, precise pressure on specific areas of your pet’s spine. If the area of the spine being treated is partially dislocated or not properly aligned, the activator will push the misaligned vertebra into the correct location.
These partially dislocated or misaligned vertebrae are also called subluxations. The activator is able to detect and reduce subluxations by providing exact amounts of force without inducing a lot of motion.
A spinal accelerometer is used in this practice, instead of hands, simply because hands are too slow. The fastest an excellent veterinary chiropractor can move a joint under optimum conditions and patient cooperation is 80 milliseconds. An animal’s natural reflexive resistance to adjustment is about 20 milliseconds, or 4 times faster. This shows the need for patient relaxation and is the reason that correct technique is imperative for manual adjustments. Conversely, the activator applies force at a rate of 2-4 milliseconds, which is 5-10 times faster than an animal’s ability to resist adjustment.
VOM is so successful because it locates all of the spinal subluxations present in the animal regardless of whether clinical symptoms are present. It reduces subluxations and confirms their reduction almost instantly.
What to Expect With VOM:
1. The veterinary chiropractitioner will do a “diagnostic pass” which entails running the device down the pet’s spine, searching for pathological reads indicative of subluxations.
2. If significant subluxations are found and they correspond to the clinical disease presented, then a course of VOM treatment will be recommended.
3. A second “therapeutic” VOM pass will be made and the changes to the reading pattern will be noted. Your pet may be already showing signs of improvement.
4. A third VOM pass will be made and the data evaluated. Most, if not all, of the reads may be reduced at this point.
5. An appointment to return for readjustment will be made upon release and post-adjustment instructions will be given as to potential discomfort that evening.
6. Medications may be dispensed depending on the nature of the case.
7. Additional adjustments may be needed to reach a point where no reads are found in which case the subluxation pattern is “cured.”
8. Maintenance checks may be recommended every 4-6 months to watch for re-occurrence.
You may see a response while your pet is still on the examination table! It can be that fast! There have been cases where an animal has not walked for weeks and with one adjustment the pet is able to stand and walk around the exam room! The average case will see some sort of positive response within the first week. Cases that show no response within one month may not resolve towards a satisfactory solution. Cases that have had paralysis or lack of function for years or months may not respond well to VOM, but some can still improve