No! We call this preventative or maintenance care. An animal can have restricted mobility in joints but not be experiencing pain. By providing maintenance care we can restore motion to these joints before they start to cause pain or other problematic symptoms.

Maintenance care can also prevent the chance of soft tissue injuries, and osteoarthritis.

• Resistance while transitioning.

• Inability to pick up a lead.

• Difficulty, stiffness, or inability to bend in one direction.

• Moves shoulder to look in one direction, instead of only turning head/neck.

• Pinning ears, biting, or flagging tail while grooming, saddling, and/or riding

• Difficulty performing maneuvers that were once easy.

• "Parked out,"  "Camped under," or other abnormal posture.

• Change in gait rhythm.

• Decrease in athletic ability or performance.

• Overall seems crabby or agitated.

• Hollowed back, and/or inability to collect.

• Performing maneuvers in one direction are much more difficult when compared to the other side.

• Trouble getting in and out of a lying position.

• Favoring a leg, and/or limping.

• Not as interested in food/treats.

• Turns entire body to look in one direction, instead of only turning head.

• Not participating in activities as normal. (Not running as fast.)

• Overall their mood is crabby or agitated.

• Experiences pain while being pet. May yelp, snap, or arch back to escape pressure.

• Not interested in playing or participating in activities that were once really enjoyed.

• Unable to get in and out of a vehicle.

• Puppy sitting. This is when a dog will sit on one hip and splay the opposite leg out to the side.

• Frequently tearing paw pads.

• Difficulty jumping on/off furniture.

An adjustment is a high velocity, low amplitude thrust that is applied to vertebral segments that have decreased motion when compared to surrounding segments. Adjustments can also be performed on other joints of the body, such as the jaw and joints of the extremities.

This depends on your career field. In the Chiropractic world, a joint that is not moving correctly is termed a Chiropractic or Vertebral Subluxation. In the Medical/Veterinary world, the term subluxation means Dislocation. Since Dr. Cara works closely with veterinarians, to decrease miscommunications between the two fields she uses the term misalignment, fixation, and/or joint restriction.

Tight muscles play a significant role in joint mobility because muscles attach to bones and move joints. It is important to release tight muscles before an adjustment so the muscle does not continue to influence how the joint moves post-adjustment. Overall, Dr. Cara sees longer-lasting results and quicker results when combining massage therapy with chiropractic work.

Absolutely! Please reach out to me and together we will discuss pricing and create a treatment plan that best suits you and your animal's needs.

This depends on many factors including how long symptoms have been present, how severe the symptoms are, how your animal responds to adjustments, how much motion I am able to restore to restricted joints, etc.

After the initial visit, I will educate you on what to watch for and make a recommendation for follow-up care. Once we see how you or your animal responds to an adjustment, together we will be able to create a care plan that best suits you or your animal's needs.

If your animal is not up to date on regular (yearly) veterinary care, it is important for them to see their primary veterinarian. If your animal is experiencing symptoms that you are concerned about, I highly recommend that you reach out to your primary veterinarian regarding these symptoms.

If you reach out to me regarding chiropractic care, I will make sure your animal's symptoms are something that can be addressed with an adjustment. If your animal has symptoms that are not related to chiropractic, I will refer you to your primary veterinarian. I also will reach out to your veterinarian for a referral before adjusting your animal.

In most cases, yes! Certain cases require rest for recovery, but it is my goal to keep you or your animal as active as possible during the treatment process.

While I cannot physically remove or cure the arthritis, we can manage your symptoms caused by the arthritis. Many people who have arthritis live with no pain at all!

If a rider has a movement restriction, no matter how small, they are restricting their horse while under saddle and their horse will have to compensate for the rider's dysfunction. By addressing both horse and rider, we're able to address restrictions that would inhibit a horse's movements.