Pain Management at HEAL

Whether acute or chronic, pain can greatly diminish a pet’s quality of life.  To understand the pain management fight, you must first understand what pain is. Pain is not a thing, it is a perception. Pain is generated in the brain by too many distress signals sent out from different parts of the body. Pain management should focus on the primary areas of injury to improve healing and dysfunction but should also focus on the chemical signaling that is occurring in the body, as well.

HEAL uses a multi-modal approach to pain management.

Using a multi-modal approaches means to fight pain and limited mobility with a variety of medications and therapies, thus creating a customized plan to help your pet feel and move better.

Components of a Multi-Modal Pain Management plan may include:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to combat inflammation to help reduce pain.—example: Carprofen, Meloxicam, Deracoxib

GABA analog drugs don’t help with inflammation but specifically combat pain arising from the nervous system (neuropathic pain).—example: Gabapentin

Opioid (and opioid-like drugs) and NMDA- antagonists fight pain by reducing the transmission of pain signals.  These drugs bind pain receptors thus reducing the perception of pain.—example, Tramadol, Ketamine

Movement therapy and physical medicine reduces pain by improving circulation of joint fluid, stretching shortened muscles, and improving muscle strength.

Nutraceuticals are naturally or food derived active compounds that have a variety of effects.  Depending on the nutraceutical used, they can improve collagen formation, reduce inflammation, fight free radicals, or support healing processes within the body.

Acupuncture helps reduce pain by a) decreasing the pain signal transmission to the spinal cord and the brain b) by reducing inflammation c) by increasing blood flow.

Trigger point therapy is incorporated into HEAL’s acupuncture sessions. This therapy focuses are areas of muscle knots, pain, and dysfunction—called trigger points. Trigger points are abnormally contracted areas within overworked muscles that can decrease muscle strength and increase pain signal transmission.

Massage and Myofascial release can help improve blood flow, release smaller trigger points and additionally reduce pain signal transmission.

Regenerative Medicine

-Platelet Rich Plasma- Platelets contain a high concentration of growth factors. When concentrated and injected, platelet rich plasma can help improve blood flow and healing in sites of injury and chronic inflammation.

-Stem Cell Therapy- Stem cells harvested and concentrated from your pet can be used to help improve healing of a variety of chronic conditions. Stem cells can help improve blood flow, re-growth of cartilage, management of chronic organ disease and more.

HEAL approaches pain management and the goal of improved function with a custom tailored approach.  All pets have individual considerations. We create a plan based on each pet’s primary issues and pet owner goals.

Call today to set up your pet’s pain management evaluation.