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Veterinary chiropractic, also known as animal chiropractic, is the practice of spinal manipulation or manual therapy for animals. Veterinary chiropractors typically treat horses, racing greyhounds, and pets. It has become a fast developing area.
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It remains controversial within certain segments of the veterinary and chiropractic profession. There is some degree of risk associated with even skilled manipulation in animals as the potential for injury exists with any technique used.
The founder of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer used the method on animals, partly to challenge claims that the placebo effect was responsible for favorable results in humans. Chiropractic treatment of large animals dates back to the early 1900s. As of 2016, 40 states in the US provide statutory or regulatory guidelines for the practice of chiropractic and related treatments on animals, generally requiring some form of veterinary involvement.
Scope
Veterinary chiropractors typically treat horses, racing greyhounds, and pets. Some animal chiropractors perform adjusts on exotic animals such as birds, dolphins elephants, iguanas, turkeys, pigs, and llamas. It has become a fast developing area. A 2011 survey in New Zealand found that use of animal chiropractic on competition race horses is widespread.
Clinical
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) guidelines recommend that a veterinarian should examine an animal and establish a preliminary diagnosis before any alternative treatment, like chiropractic, is initiated. Before performing a chiropractic adjustment, the chiropractor examines the animal's gait, posture, and the vertebrae and extremities. The chiropractor may also make neurological evaluations. In addition to spinal manipulation, other adjustive procedures can be performed to the extremity joints and cranial sutures. Those that specialize in horses are referred to as "equine chiropractors."
The AVMA lists chiropractic as a complementary and alternative treatment (CAVM). Other CAVM treatments include acupuncture and physical therapy. The AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act includes CAVM in the definition of veterinary medicine, (thus generally limiting its practice to licensed veterinarians) and that standard has been adopted in 20 states as of 2016. An additional 20 states have enacted other provisions regarding the use of CAVM on animals, most of which require some type of veterinary input such as supervision or referral. Veterinary chiropractic is not recognized by the American Chiropractic Association as being chiropractic.
Efficacy and safety
Limited evidence exists on the efficacy of osteopathic or chiropractic methods in equine therapy. There is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of spinal manipulation or mobilization for equine pain management, and the efficacy of specific equine manual therapy techniques is mostly anecdotal. Together, the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners stated in 2015 that there was insufficient "reliable, noncontradictory evidence" for veterinary chiropractic methods in the management of pain. The practice remains controversial.
There is some degree of risk associated with even skilled manipulation in animals as the potential for injury exists with any technique used. This risk may increase in the presence of structural disease, such as equine cervical vertebral malformation (CVM) or canine intervertebral disk disease. Horses have been hurt by very forceful animal chiropractic movements. Adjusting the spine of a dog with a degenerative disk runs the risk of serious injury to the spinal cord.
History and certification
Chiropractic treatment of large animals dates back to the early 1900s. The founder of the field of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer used the method on animals, partly to challenge claims that the placebo effect was responsible for favorable results in humans. In the 1980s, it began to be seen on the margins of veterinary medicine. By the late 1980s, a veterinarian who also was a chiropractor, Sharon Willoughby, developed a training program. With the emergence of veterinary chiropractic, both doctors of chiropractic (DCs) and veterinary medicine (DVMs) became able to take additional training to become certified in veterinary chiropractic. The primary certifier in North America is The Animal Chiropractic Certification Commission (ACCC) of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA). Earning certification from the ACCC requires attending an ACCC-approved animal chiropractic program followed by ACCC written and clinical examinations. In some locations, a veterinarian must supervise the treatment provided by a veterinary chiropractor.