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Pain Management Clinic |
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Chronic Pain Management at The Sams Clinic
The Sams Clinic is a unique fusion of specialists within veterinary medicine. It is extremely rare to have the combination of an orthopaedic surgeon, a neurosurgeon, an anesthesiologist, and a canine rehabilitation specialist together in the same Practice. With the assembly of these specialists, an exceptional opportunity exists to provide our patients with outstanding pain control. Our focus is the diagnosis and treatment of painful conditions through multiple modalities.
Dr. Alex Hawley is available on Fridays to see patients in the Pain Management Clinic. He treats patients with chronic pain caused by a whole range of orthopaedic, neurological and other complaints.
To make an appointment, please call the Main Line 415 380 0500.
It is important to understand that pain is a clinical symptom of an underlying condition or disease. In order to treat pain most effectively, it is extremely important to diagnose the underlying condition or disease process before proceeding to the treatment.
By far the most common form of chronic pain in companion animals is osteoarthritis (OA). It is estimated that OA affects 20% of all dogs in the U.S; somewhere between 15 and 20 million dogs. OA is a very complex disease and it has a wide variety of severity and clinical presentations.
Other treatable chronic pain conditions include:
• Cancer Pain
• Intervertebral Disc Disease
• Limb Amputation
• Chronic Ear Pain associated with Ear Infections
• Chronic Eye Pain associated with Glaucoma or Corneal Ulceration
• Neuropathic Pain
• Chronic Episodic Pancreatitis
• Myofacial Trigger Point Therapy
The best way to approach painful conditions, both acute and chronic, is by employing several different methods. Available methods include medications, acupuncture, cold laser therapy, hydrotherapy, physical rehabilitation, lifestyle modification and other specialized therapies such as Stem Cell Therapy.
The goal of today's pharmacologic therapy is to include many types of medications that combat pain. Using several types of medication reduces the dosage of each medication used and, most importantly, reduces the side-effects seen with each individual drug.
Our goal is to manage your pet's pain whilst eliminating the side-effects of pharmocologic therapy. Many people have a fear of medicating their animals. Medication has a huge potential to help the painful condition, so wherever possible, we choose to prescribe medications that have a low incidence of side-effects.
Cold Laser Therapy utilizes a low intensity laser to treat various symptoms and conditions including pain and inflammation. Cold Laser Therapy stimulates blood flow in treated areas, which can decrease pain and inflammation. This therapy can potentially help reduce pain, especially in cases where the desired treatment does not include surgery or medications.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
TENS can be used as a treatment modality for pain – both acute and chronic. The electrical signals from the devise override the pain signals going to the brain and spinal cord. This break in the pain cycle can reduce the pain sensation and lead to better patient comfort. This therapy can potentially help reduce pain, especially in cases where the desired treatment does not include surgery or medications.
Acupuncture can be defined as the insertion of needles into specific points on the body to cause a desired healing effect.
Benefits of Acupuncture
In general, the benefits of acupuncture include pain relief, balancing of the immune system, stimulating repair of damaged tissue, balancing of hormones and neurotransmitters, relaxation and an improved sense of well being. Acupuncture can be used in conjuction with any treatments that your pet is already receiving (medications, surgery, etc.). It is also a viable alternative treatment when there is concern about side effects of a medication (for example, if a pet has liver or kidney issues, there may be concern about using standard medications for arthritis pain and inflammation). It can be beneficial to add acupuncture when the patient is not responding to medical and/or surgical treatment, or when response to treatment is not as expected. In these cases, using acupuncture in conjuction with traditional treatments will often give better results than using either of these modalities alone.
Conditions that can be treated with Acupuncture
Acupuncture is effective in treating a wide variety of medical conditions. It is known to have positive effects on all of the major physiological systems of the body. Some of the more commonly treated ailments include; musculoskeletal issues (arthritis, hip dysplasia, intervertebral disc disease), neurologic problems (epilepsy, and vestibular disease), gastrointestinal problems (vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, and megacolon), anxiety disorders (separation anxiety, lick granulomas, and excessive grooming/ psychogenic alopecia), respiratory problems (asthma and sinusitis), hormonal imbalances, and age related urinary incontinence.
This is only a partial list illustrating some of the more common applications of acupuncture in veterinary medicine. If your pet is suffering from a condition not listed above, please contact us to discuss whether acupuncture would be an appropriate choice for your pet's particular situation.
How acupuncture works
Acupuncture needles induce tiny lesions or microtraumas in the body to promote self-healing mechanisms through neuromodulation. Neuromodulation is the cascade of events that occur from insertion of the needle into the tissues, involving the nerves and the surrounding cells. Mechanical stimulation from the needle in the tissue signals the local area as well as the spinal cord and brain, and promotes local blood circulation, anti-inflammatory reactions, pain control, tissue healing, and immune stimulation. Traditional Chinese theory holds that acupuncture points run along specific pathways or meridians. These meridians follow closely with nerves and vessels throughout the body. Stimulation of acupuncture points along these nerves and meridians can be used to treat a multitude of disease processes to restore and promote homeostasis.
Frequency of treatments
For most conditions, treatments are done once a week for 4 to 8 weeks, and then spaced further and further apart. Some response may be seen after the first treatment, but it can sometimes take several treatments before a significant response is seen. Acupuncture is not treating or masking symptoms, it is actually stimulating the body's own healing mechanisms. Healing and repair take time. Most commonly, the first effects seen are more on a mental/emotional level. For example, clients often report after the first treatment that the pet seems happier (wags tail or purrs more) and/or that the pet is more relaxed and sleeping better at night. Then after a few more treatments, the physical symptoms start to improve. Acute conditions may require just one series of treatments, whereas chronic or degenerative diseases may require ongoing treatments once a month.
A significant portion of dogs that have chronic pain conditions stemming from osteo-arthritis are overweight. Simply reducing weight may help to significantly decrease the pain associated with OA. In addition to weight loss. other diet and nutritional supplementation methods have been shown to help with OA. Controlled exercise and environmental modifications can improve the quality of life for both the owner and the pet.
Vet-StemŽ isolates regenerative cells from a sample of your pet's own fat for treatment of tendons, ligaments and joints. It can be effective in reducing chronic pain due to conditions such as OA. Please read more on the Stem Cell page of this site.
Swimming has long been recognized as a beneficial form of non-weight bearing exercise.
The Sams Clinic offers canine conditioning and post-operative surgical care through our state-of-the art SwimEx Hydrotherapy pool and underwater treadmill. The underwater treadmill can be particularly beneficial because the specialist can customize the amount of weight-bearing a particular joint undergoes. Please read more on the hydrotherapy page of this site.
