At the Ark Veterinary Centre we offer a multimodal approach to the control of joint and neuromuscular pain and to the recovery from orthopaedic surgery. This allows us to control pain while retraining the body in how to move correctly.

The normal reaction from any animal that has limb pain is to try and go easy on the affected limb. Although in the short term this does reduce the pain, it does put extra strain on the opposite limb. In the long term if can also lead to a loss of muscle if the limb is not used correctly and eventually long term lameness.

When dealing with any chronic pain, it is important to not only remove the source of the pain, but to stimulate the wasted muscles and retrain them so that all limbs are used normally. This is achieved with a combination of

• diet
• joint supplements
• non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (nsaids)
• other pain relief drugs
• laser therapy
• acupuncture
• physiotherapy exercises
• underwater treadmill

Each animal’s plan is devised particular to their individual requirements. The more approaches and tools we have to try and fix any given problem, the more likely we are to be successful.

Bramble using the treadmill as part of the rehabilitation after a knee operation.