Shoulder pain is common in dogs and cats. Two of the common causes of shoulder pain are rotator cuff injuries and inflammation of the biceps tendon (biceps tendonitis).
Laser Therapy & Exercise Decrease Pain, Increase ROM
In research done on humans (isn’t this a delightful switch!—usually we do research on dogs and cats and use what we’ve found to help humans, but here we can use what we found in humans to help pets.), a combination of laser (pulsed infrared laser) and exercise was significantly more effective in relieving pain and increasing range of motion than was exercise alone. Dogs and cats with shoulder injury should also have significant pain relief and increased range of motion (ROM)when treated with laser and exercise.
For many pets, even cats, swimming in warm water would be an ideal exercise to benefit the shoulder.
How can you tell if your pet has a shoulder problem?
Suspect shoulder pain if your pet is
1. Slow to go downstairs.
Dogs or cats take weight on the front legs and shoulders when going downstairs. If your pet is slower going downstairs than upstairs, it may have a shoulder injury.
2. Limping and head bobbing.
Dogs and cats that walk with a head bob often have shoulder pain. The head goes up to pull weight off the sore shoulder, and goes down when the leg with the good shoulder is used. The up and down motion of the head is called a “head bob.”
3. Suffering from a chronic knee injury.
If your pet has a knee injury, such as an ACL tear (anterior cruciate ligament) it will put more weight on the front legs to keep weight off the back legs. Over time, the front legs become as sore and painful as the back legs. The pain can be distributed over the entire front leg, from the shoulder to the toes.
4. Cursed with hip dysplasia.
Hip dysplasia causes pain and arthritis because the pelvis doesn’t have deep sockets for the femur to nestle into. The entire back end of the animal will be weak if the hips are abnormal. Often this abnormality is visible: Look down over the body of your pet. If the shoulders are wide and the thorax is large, but the hips are small and narrow, then structures in the front legs, including the biceps and rotator cuff are susceptible to injury.
5. Hit by a car.
Dogs & cats that have been hit by car (HBC)and injured in falls can have hip injuries that leave them with chronic pain. To help decrease the pain, they transfer as much of their weight as possible to the shoulders and front legs.. Extra weight overworks the shoulders—causing inflammation of tendons (biceps tendonitis) and inflammation of tissues around the shoulder joint (subacromial syndrome).
Holistic Veterinarians Can Help
If any of these conditions describe your pet, ask for help from your holistic veterinarian. Ask your veterinarian to provide acupuncture, laser the shoulder, and prescribe an exercise routine that includes swimming. Swimming in warm salt water would be ideal.
The Research
For a look at the original research , go to the journal of Clinical Rheumatology just published May 4, 2011. The article is titled: Additive effects of low-level laser therapy with exercise on subacromial syndrome: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial. Scientists who published the research are: Abrisham SM, Kermani-Alghoraishi M, Ghahramani R, Jabbari L, Jomeh H, Zare M. Orthopedics Dept, Shahid Sadoughi . These medical researchers are from the University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran—good comes from many corners of the Earth.
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