Arthritis & Pain Management

As many as one third of pets have signs of degenerative joint disease. These changes are not just inevitable signs of aging. Young animals with juvenille orthopaedic conditions are also at risk of osteoarthritis (OA) which is a debilitating and painful condition of joints.

Regular screening to detect and treat arthritis early gives us the best chance to stabilise the condition by slowing down joint destruction and reducing pain to help keep your pet happy, comfortable, and active for longer.

Early detection can be difficult as animals often hide signs of pain or discomfort. Contact us to find out more about incorporating a regular musculoskeletal, pain, and fitness assessment into your pet’s current annual health routine. If further diagnostics or disease monitoring such as blood tests, ultrasound or x-rays are required, we can minimise anaesthetics and costs by organising for them to be done at the same time your pet has the rest of their annual health care procedures.

There is no cure for osteoarthritis. However, physical rehabilitation can add benefit to pets with arthritis or at risk of developing it. Techniques include:

• Soft tissue manipulation
• Therapeutic exercise
• Laser therapy
• Transcutaneous electrical neuromuscular stimulation (TENS)
• Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)
• Dry needling
• Disease modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs)

See a full list of our services here.