Navigating the Journey of Chronic Pain Management Together

Aging can be rough for all of us, and our pets are no exception! You may notice limping, or maybe your pet is just having a harder time getting up or maybe slowing down in daily activities. Sometimes they completely stop doing activities that they used to do. We have put countless hours of CE and training into chronic pain management for your beloved senior furry family member. We don’t like to toot our own horn, but it’s kind of a big deal for us, and it is our passion. We are here to help guide you and partner with you to find the best ways to keep your pet as comfortable as possible. We promise to listen, to empathize, to educate, to discuss all options, and to find a solution that works for you and your pet!

How Can I Tell if My Pet has Chronic Pain?

Signs of chronic pain can be subtle, and sometimes it is hard to know. We use various chronic pain scales (and track these over time) to help us identify ways in which our pet might be struggling.

Common causes of chronic pain include arthritis and degenerative joint disease, cancer, myofascial pain due to abnormal posture, muscle atrophy and weakness, and neuropathic pain. Sometimes there can be concurrent issues that can make things a little more complicated, such as loss of vision, hearing or balance, loss of continence, anxiety-related conditions, cognitive dysfunction, or metabolic or hormonal diseases and imbalances. 

How We Manage Chronic Pain for Your Pet

Fortunately, there are lots of things that we can do to help!  The best kind of management is always multi-modal – that means addressing the pain pathways several ways with pharmaceuticals, as well as addressing the underlying process of the pain and disease process (whether it’s arthritis, neurologic, or soft tissue) with modalities, nutrition, supplements, etc. We design a specific, tailored, and targeted plan for your pet. It will likely involve the following:

Medications

Often, medications are the cornerstone of pain management, allowing us to reduce inflammation and slow down the process of tissue damage. Not all medications are appropriate for every condition, and we use our extensive knowledge to help address your pet’s pain appropriately and safely.

Rehabilitation Therapy

It is so important to keep our pets moving with a plan that is targeted to their abilities and level of strength. We lose type 1 muscle fibers (the ones involved in posture and endurance) due to pain and inactivity, but the good news is that these can be built back up with appropriate exercise at any age! We will design a home exercise program for your pet, as well as working with your pet with our trained staff in our state-of-the art gym.

Sometimes just managing the chronic pain more comprehensively can do a world of wonder for their mental state and energy level.  Once pain is managed, muscle-strengthening exercises can be instituted.

The Most Current and Up-to-Date Therapies

We use multiple modalities – acupuncture, shockwave, manual therapy (massage, joint mobilizations, stretching), laser, PEMF, joint injections, etc – to promote healing and to decrease inflammation and pain. Not every animal responds the same way to every therapy, so our goal is to find the individualized approach that works best for your pet!

Nutritional Management

We can advise on supplements to help decrease inflammation and address joint health as well as muscle health. We can help tailor a diet plan to get your pet to a healthy weight, as needed. We can also look at the amount of protein your pet is getting, since protein requirements actually increase with age (and increased protein turnover).

Environmental Management/Assistive Devices

Often our pets might start slipping on floors, or have a hard time getting up/down stairs, or even find it painful to lean down the food bowl, etc, as they age and get a bit weak and/or painful.  Part of the plan for your pet is to figure out how we can give them the assistance they need to get up, to keep moving, to avoid slipping and falling, and to maintain a good quality of life while minimizing risk of injury!

Another thing to keep in mind with possible age-related cognitive and behavioral issues is to implement some environmental enrichment.  Enrichment is anything that is mentally stimulating, whether it is tactile/sensory, olfactory (smell), or engages their problem-solving skills.

Providing Comfort through Comprehensive Care at OK Vet Rehab

As you see, there are so many things we can do! We set aside ample time in our appointments to address each of these things. We have the skills and expertise to help you navigate the journey of chronic pain management and quality of life management for your pet together. Being able to help lengthen and strengthen the bonds of pet owners and their furry family members as the pet enters the golden years is one of the most rewarding parts of our job! Doing our best to keep your pet comfortable is our promise to you.