FAQ

A person performing animal chiropractic services is very different from someone offering osteopathic work or massage therapy, and requirements to practice any of these professions vary by state and country. An animal chiropractor (Doctor of Chiropractic) or a veterinarian trained in animal chiropractic (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) requires a valid professional license (DC or DVM) in the state. This means the person has gone through 4 years of professional school (a minimum of 8 years of higher education overall) as well as specific additional training in animal chiropractic techniques from an accredited animal chiropractic program. Never feel guilty for asking your animal professional where they were trained or what their qualifications are to work on your animal.

The state of Colorado requires a valid professional license and graduation from an accredited animal chiropractic program. It does not require animal chiropractic certification, but certification does show that the professional underwent additional practical and written testing to show qualification at a national or international level. The two common largely accepted certifying groups are the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA) and the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA.) A DC in Colorado practicing animal chiropractic is also required to do additional zoonotic disease training for animals. Both professionals must then do annual continuing education to keep their license to practice valid. A DC may not provide veterinary advice or services and must defer to a veterinarian for primary care consultations, as that kind of information/consultation falls outside of his/her scope of practice in human medicine.

Dr. Meg Bacon is a veterinarian, Fear Free accredited, graduate from Options for Animal College of Animal Chiropractic, and certified in animal chiropractic through the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association (IVCA). Her personal and undergraduate background focused on the horse industry including 4-H, English/Western equitation and pleasure, trail riding, horsepacking, Arabian park horse training/breeding/showing, and cutting horse training/breeding/showing. She worked as Certified Veterinary Technician with mixed animal species for 6 years prior to her Veterinarian training. She then worked as a general practitioner in both large and small animal practices prior to moving and opening her business in Boulder County. She also currently works with Nederland Veterinary Hospital to provide small animal general practice services part-time.

This question is extremely common. Many people want to know if there is a way to check if there animal needs it. Yes! It's called motion palpation, and it is the process of the Doctor checking for normal range of motion of all the joints of the body. Many people ask if they will be charged less if there animal does need anything, and the answer is unfortunately no. Why? Because the expertise and time to motion palpate your animal is the most time-consuming and important portion of the chiropractic evaluation. The adjustments happen along the way and only take an additional few seconds on any site that was found improperly motioning.  Please view any of the youtube videos on horse adjusting or dog adjusting in our educational tab to view some the typical motion palpation and adjustments (both videos show many parts of the exam, but not everything in it's entirety.)

Well, if you can't just check, then how can I guess that my animal needs it? Here are some of the common signs, symptoms, conditions and professions of animals seen by owners that can regularly be helped by chiropractic:

• Bunny Hopping
• Toe Dragging
• New sensitivity to touch, especially along the topline
• Refusing stairs, getting into cars, going over jumps, going down hills
• Reduced performance
• Horses with poor or altered head carriage (High poll, behind the bit, poor flexion/extension)
• Reluctance to leash walking, saddling, harnessing, or bridling
• Constipation, slow gut motility, or incontinence
• Conformation faults, long backs, lameness, arthritis (especially hocks), navicular, founder, recurrent colic, and neurologic conditions
• Infertility, low libido
• Difficulty nursing (often indicated by young large animals that will only nurse from one side or will not nurse for very long before stopping)
• Unexplained pain or new behavior not explained or solved by traditional veterinary medicine
• Performance animals (AKC, flyball, agility, herding, protection/police, racing, cutting, jumping, dressage, endurance), aging animals, breeding animals or just your wonderful family animal!

Step 1 -- Fill out your new patient questionnaire.

• Dr. Bacon is so excited to work with you and your animals. Dr. Bacon will email you a questionnaire that let's her know some details about you and your animal including medical history and behavioral concerns. These questions are there to help her plan the best approach for your animal, such as extra time for getting to know your animal if they have never had chiropractic work. This also lets her start the medical record for your animals to save time at our in-person appointment, which is especially true for areas of no Wi-Fi/cell service.

Step 2 -- Talk to your primary veterinarian

• If you work with a primary veterinarian, it is beneficial to touch base with them to talk about any concerns they might have with your animal receiving chiropractic care. If your animal has received radiographs of particular areas that indicate significant problems, forwarding images or the radiograph interpretation to Dr. Bacon will help her to work in these areas.
• Please ask your primary if they would like a copy of the chiropractic record automatically emailed to them. If your veterinarian has specific medical concerns they would like to discuss with Dr. Bacon, they are also welcome to contact her. 

Additional Considerations

Competing animals

• Animals competing for show greatly benefit from chiropractic adjustments, especially with appropriate timing. Animals should receive 24-48 hours of "rest" after their adjustment to receive the most benefit. Chiropractors focus on the movement of joints, however, 80% of the joints receive their support from muscle. Rest in the form of controlled leash or hand walking, and restriction from rambunctious play or activity, can aid the adjustment areas in staying in full range of motion. Aggressive activity right after an adjustment may allow that animal to perform really well in that activity, but that adjustment will have acted like a band-aid instead of addressing the long-term problem. Chronic areas will quickly go back to their stressed/reduced mobility state because the muscles will tighten back-up for protection. Regularly scheduled chiropractic care with appropriate rest periods would be recommended for athlete or working animals to maintain top performance.

Horse clients

• Grooming. Dr. Bacon would greatly appreciate it if your animal is groomed prior to the appointment, including limbs, to clear major mud and debris. The initial palpation exam is very thorough, and small myofascial details can be missed with caked mud in the coat. 
• Working with your other professionals. Timing of chiropractic appointments can be timed to give your animal the most benefit. Dr. Bacon would recommend chiropractic care 2-4 days after farrier appointments to see the most accurate conformation of your animal, as well as allow your horse to benefit from the adjustment after having legs held up for a longer period of time. Timing with veterinary appointments depends on your horses ailments. Getting an adjustment 2 days prior to recheck lameness examinations because it will reduce any compensatory mechanisms of the body that can sometimes mask the true lameness or the severity of the lameness. Massage therapy can be beneficial prior to first time chiropractic patients due to many muscles being tightened with the chronic support or compensation of areas needing adjustment. After adjustment, horses can benefit from hand-walking and light massage to encourage muscles to stay relaxed after chiropractic adjustments. The may help your horse hold the adjustments for longer periods of time, aiding in trying to increase the interval between needed adjustments.

Just curious about what the chiropractic adjustment looks like? Take a peak in our Education tab at the videos with examples of parts of the equine and canine chiropractic motion palpation and adjustments.

The first couple minutes of the visit are always used to get to know your animal or re-establish connection with follow-up patients, as well as talk with you about your animal. If it's your first appointment, the doctor may use this time to start evaluating you animal's conformation or gait as it moves about the room or stands being held. The doctor will be taking notes on a tablet, or paper forms depending on your locations WiFi service. These are will be part of your medical record.

On initial examinations, Dr. Bacon will do a thorough musculoskeletal exam to palpate muscle and soft tissues, looking for pain, heat, effusion, tension and asymmetry. Horses often benefit from light/slow techniques like Masterson Method to help identify areas of tension, which may be performed at the first visit; this also helps build a connection with your horse. She will also check passive range of motion of many of the joints. Depending on the species of animal, Dr. Bacon will then ask for your assistance for a brief gait analysis by walking and trotting your animal. This is to look for lameness, length of stride between limbs, and arc of foot flight. Abnormalities noticed help indicate where adjustments may be needed, and also may determine rehabilitative exercises that the Doctor can give you between appointments. Recheck examinations will be more brief, and will be looking for changes or progress from initial examinations.

Your animal will then receive motion palpation of the joints, with any needed adjustments made along the way. The whole animal is done (head-to-toe) as long as the behavior of the animal is willing to allow the examination safely.  Some animals require trust to be built over time for limb adjusting. The Doctor may ask for your assistance in providing support for your animal for certain adjustments. For safety and comprehension, an adult handler is recommended so your animal can receive all possible adjustments and care. The Doctor will ask ahead of your appointment about any behavioral qualities that may make parts of your motioning examination and adjustments more challenging or impossible. Dr. Bacon is willing to work with animals over time that just need to build trust, so being upfront about behavioral concerns is important for time scheduling management. This is especially true for animals that have never had prior chiropractic work.

Please let Dr. Bacon know if your animal is adverse or sensitive to certain areas being touched. Dr. Bacon will not work on animals that are sedated. Why? Chiropractic adjustments are made based on a feeling within the joint's movement, and if an animal is sedate, it does not have natural response or movement to a Doctor's touch. Adjustments on a sedated animal put an animal's safety at risk. 

Frequent areas of concern are face, ears, limbs, feet, and tails. Some animals can only receive spine work safely, which is okay, and will still be beneficial! The body scan and musculoskeletal exam are good initial ways for the Doctor to read your animal's behavior to touch. For small animal appointments, the Doctor must frequently put their hand or arm underneath the animal's abdomen to support the skeleton during motioning and adjustments. For large animal appointments, the Doctor is frequently standing on large stacked chiropractic bales that put the Doctor's upper body well over the height of the animal.

• Animals that have just had surgery without permission from the primary veterinarian.  Animals can and should receive adjustments to all areas beside a surgical area to aid in healing time and to treat compensatory areas, but only once the animal is stable and with primary Doctor clearance.
• Animals with unevaluated reactivity that may be associated with pain or pathology. Some animals have such significant pain in areas of their body that they need to have a veterinarian evaluation and medication for pain management or significant condition rule outs prior to chiropractic work. Animals that bite/growl/kick with even light touch to particular areas may be reacting or anticipating pain; these animals should be evaluated by a veterinarian and a phone conversation between Dr. Bacon and your veterinarian may be beneficial. Traditional anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, and alternative therapies like PEMF/laser/acupuncture may be able to reduce the level of pain and accompanying anxiety prior to your chiropractic appointment. Addressing this pain prior to the appointment both supports your animal completely, as well as increases safety for the individuals working around your animal. Some animals may be severely pain reactive due to more advanced medical conditions such as bone cancers (osteosarcoma, multiple myeloma) or traumatic injury that need to be addressed by traditional veterinary medicine and make them an inappropriate chiropractic candidate.
• Injured or neurologic animals that have not received a primary care veterinarian work-up. Traditional medicine comes before chiropractic care. If a significant injury, ailment, or neurologic condition is suspected during chiropractic evaluation that has not received primary care diagnostic testing, you will be referred to a primary care provider. Dr. Bacon will complete the rest of a general health examination, and you will only be charged for mileage and the health examination.
• Aggressive or untrained animals putting handlers or the Doctor at risk. Please talk with Dr. Bacon about any possible behavioral concerns prior to your appointment. Dogs should not have a history of impulsive biting when handled, and should be up-to-date on Rabies vaccination. Some dogs with protection jobs or working dog roles would greatly benefit from adjustments, and Dr. Bacon is willing to work with trained handlers to work on these animals; please bring your working animal muzzle with you since it will be the most familiar to your dog. Adult horses should be halter broke and have the ability to stand. Dr. Bacon will work on horses in stocks if there are safety concerns if there are any available. Horses that have a history of standing poorly for the farrier may or may not be good candidate for chiropractic, so talking with Dr. Bacon about these cases before your appointment time is important.  

 The short answer is no! Whether you have a young animal in the first few weeks of life or a geriatric companion, chiropractic is beneficial and encouraged.

Common reasons for young animals to be evaluated is difficulty nursing or in cases of large animals only nursing at one side of the dam. These signs can indicate hypomobility in the neck region, so extending or rotating the head and neck is challenging. Young animals with conformation faults may benefit from early adjustments in case conformation faults are arising from limb joint reduced range of motion.