Page 110 - BSAVA Guide to Pain Management in Small Animal Practice

6 | Physical methods used to alleviate pain: complementary therapies

VetBooks.ir Long-term relief of pain owners to help improve their pet s mobility,
muscle strength and balance.
Acupuncture may result in a cumulative
echni ues that fall under the umbrella of
response to signs such as pain or dysfunction.
In terms of pain, this is mediated at least in part physiotherapy include any skill except
acupuncture in which the physiotherapist is
by the upregulation of messenger RNA for included, e.g. hydrotherapy, laser therapy,
preproenkephalin, i.e. more precursors of massage, pressure point massage and
endorphins are produced. his means that the manipulations. owever, each of these may
body responds to new or returning pain also be o ered by practitioners who speciali e
sensation by rapidly producing more pain relief. in one techni ue only e.g. hydrotherapists
Essentially, acupuncture fools the brain into
thinking that the body has been damaged, so and chiropractors .
that it triggers very potent pain-relieving Hydrotherapy
mechanisms that are then directed to the area
that most needs the pain relief. ydrotherapy uses the inherent properties of
his sounds impressive and, although these water to facilitate rehabilitation of patients who
e ects have been reliably demonstrated, the may nd land based exercises too di cult or
potency of acupuncture depends on the painful. here a hydrotherapy facility is
inherent ability of the patient to respond to the available to the practice it will obviously be
stimulus and the ability of the acupuncturist to used, but there are some patients that do not
deliver an e ective dose for the individual and accept formal hydrotherapy and some owners
for the condition under treatment. may not have the time or resources to use it.
In these cases, so called do it yourself I
Legal status of veterinary hydrotherapy may be employed, but owners
acupuncture need advice on minimi ing risk and optimi ing
bene ts. ydrotherapy is not a panacea, it can
Acupuncture is an act of veterinary surgery. be hard work for the patient, and can result in a
owever, veterinary nurses may perform worsening of pain if used improperly.
acupuncture under Schedule if directed to do ydrotherapy services available include
so by a veterinary surgeon veterinarian trained
in acupuncture and who directs the depth and ■ Pools tanks swimming in pools generally
position of needling. expends greater e ort than walking on an
underwater treadmill, so it is not suitable for
older or frail animals or those with
Physiotherapy cardiovascular disease. oreover,
swimming in a pool, while allowing greater
Physiotherapy is de ned as a range of physical oint exion than land based exercise, does
therapies used to prevent and treat in uries, not contribute to oint extension
restore function, and maximi e physical ■ Underwater treadmills allow better oint
potential. It includes any of the manipulative exion and extension than land based
therapies such as osteopathy and chiropractic, exercise; can contribute to an improvement
but, although acupuncture is a physical therapy, in proprioception; and reduce loading and
acupuncture is not included within the scope of concussion on the oints igure 6.1
veterinary physiotherapy, as it is an act of ■ I hydrotherapy this can mimic some of
veterinary surgery, as noted above. the e ects of pools and water walking,
Access to a veterinary physiotherapist is not depending on how the owner controls the
universal and, even if it were, it is not necessarily patient. he main risks with such an
appropriate for all conditions and all patients. approach are the access to and exit from
hat will be described here are the simple the water diving in and scrabbling out is
techni ues that can be employed and likely to be detrimental and so owners must
demonstrated by the veterinary team to help source shallow beach type areas for their

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