Treatments
There is rarely one answer. Most plans combine two or three of these, reviewed and adjusted as your pet responds.
Many pets arrive on four or five drugs with nobody quite sure which ones are still earning their place. We work through what is being given, at what dose, and what it is actually doing.
Sometimes that means adding something. Often it means taking something away. Your own vet receives the reasoning in writing after the appointment.
Fine needles used to modulate the pain signals reaching the brain. It is well tolerated by most dogs and cats.
For some patients this becomes the regular treatment that keeps them comfortable month to month, alongside whatever else is in the plan.
Therapeutic laser to reduce inflammation, with no needles involved.
Useful for targeting a specific painful area alongside the rest of the plan.
Real-time imaging of soft tissue, muscle and the areas around a joint that do not show up on an X-ray.
It is valuable for soft tissue injuries, and it helps both with reaching a diagnosis and with planning targeted treatment.
Medication placed directly where the pain is coming from, whether that is inside a joint, around a nerve, or close to the spine where the nerves emerge between the vertebrae.
Options include steroids, platelet rich plasma and synthetic joint injections such as Arthramid. For PRP we use the Cell Therapy Sciences system, which prepares the plasma from your dog's own blood. We do not offer stem cell treatment.
A steroid injection for lumbosacral spine pain and hindlimb weakness.
For the right patient it can change how comfortably a dog gets up, walks and sleeps.
Which supplements have evidence behind them and which do not, said plainly. The most consistent evidence is for marine sourced omega-3 fatty acids.
Alongside that, practical lifestyle and home management changes, including how exercise is structured and how to keep a dog happy on a restricted routine.
Most of these can be combined. A typical plan might be a medication change plus a joint injection now, acupuncture monthly, and a review in three months to see what is actually working.
See what it costsCall and ask. If another specialist or referral centre is better placed to help, we will say so.
41 High Street
Dulverton
Somerset TA22 9DW
By appointment, generally Wednesday to Friday.
