Page 117 - BSAVA Guide to Pain Management in Small Animal Practice

BSAVA Guide to Pain Management in Small Animal Practice

VetBooks.ir ■ Spine Chronic neurological pain
• Use weaving poles to encourage lateral
he expected e ects of acupuncture are pain
movement of the spine and spinal
muscles. Start with poles a body width relief with conse uent improvement in mobility,
and return to function. Physiotherapy and
apart igure 6. 8 . hydrotherapy will be used for pain relief, to
improve or maintain muscle strength and mass,
or balance and to encourage the limbs to
be lifted and oints to be exed use Cavaletti and to improve proprioception.
poles igure 6. 9 a body width apart, starting
with them on the ground and progressively WARNING
raising them as the dog gets used to stepping
over them. are should e ta en with any physical
therapy when there is evidence of central
sensitization. If light touch or gentle
pressure is interpreted y the patient
as pain, the therapy will e unpleasant
and, almost certainly, less effective or
detrimental

Physical therapies will not directly have
therapeutic e ects on neuropathic conditions,
eaving poles to encourage lateral spine for example for compression of, and direct
exibility. impingement on, nervous tissue. owever, for
some so called dynamic lesions, where the
posture of the animal determines how much
compression or impingement occurs, the
physical therapies appear to have a part to play.

■ IV apply acupuncture as for the acute
presentation, but also examine and treat
secondary muscular pain in the epaxial and
limb muscles.
■ oraminal stenosis treat the secondary
muscle pain found on examination to try to
prevent the cycle of physical hunching and
further nerve impingement. reatment will
Cavaletti poles to encourage lifting the legs, inevitably have to be fre uent and
balance and proprioception. long term.

WARNING
■ educe the pain rst with acupuncture and other analgesia efore starting these e ercises.
■ ore is T etter, so start slowly and infre uently.
■ hec that the e ercises are not ma ing the pain worse.
■ f the pain is worse, chec what the owner is doing.
■ void swimming especially where there are cervical lesions ut also in any condition where
lordosis of the spine is o viously associated with a worsening of signs.
■ are with underwater treadmills when the animal s stride is lengthened to the point where
hip e tension also causes pelvic tilting when lordosis e acer ates pain.

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