Several years ago, my sweet Schnauzer was hit by a car. Fortunately, she survived but had her hip badly broken. Although she never seemed to return to her full use, she made it through the healing process and has done fairly well. Her quality of life has been drastically different, which is evident in how slowly she moves now compared to before the accident. She rarely runs and plays, and it is difficult for her to go up and down the two steps from the patio doors to the backyard.

Although her injuries have already healed, it has been six years that she seems to be very sensitive if I touch her leg for any reason. I had once been told that this was a sign that the pet is in pain, so, as you can imagine, I was very concerned about her.

Finding out what was wrong with Cherish led me to a trip to the Animal Fitness Center. Dr. Ava Frick told us that Cherish had been suffering from arthritis. I never thought that my dog would ever have arthritis. I thought only humans can experience that.

Arthritis is actually an inflammation of a joint, and often painful as how Dr. Frick explained it. Arthritis leads to the wear and tear to joins through the natural aging process. She said that the car hit so many years ago likely worsen the arthritis. And it will almost certainly be worse when if there has been any injury.

Often, an injury will cause the joint to have irregular surfaces or cause problems in how two bones mate within a joint, she said. As you can imagine, more wear and tear is caused because of this. The bone-on-bone contact can cause additional pain without the smooth, flexible cartilage being present.

Dr. Frick explained that sometimes NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are helpful for pets with arthritis and cortisone could also be used to reduce pain and inflammation.

Physical therapy, acupuncture, therapeutic laser, massage, and veterinary chiropractic are some non-medical alternatives that have been proven to be successful in treating canine arthritis. A veterinarian with expertise in these areas is quite difficult to find. If you live near Union, Missouri, I recommend making an appointment with Dr.Frick at Animal Fitness Center. She has worked wonders with drastically reducing Cherish’s arthritis pain and symptoms, giving my dog a much happier life.

Dr. Ava Frick caters pet nutritional supplements at dog Fitness Center, PC. Focuses on dog improvement, pain management, and pet chiropractic care for dogs, cats, and horses. This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

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