They are highly trained and dedicated to making sure that your pets receive the care and compassion they deserve.
We offer the following services to keep your pets healthy:
Integrative Veterinary Examination
Our integrative examination will not only include a Western veterinary medicine examination, we will also be performing a traditional Chinese veterinary medicine examination to gain a better understanding of how your pet is doing. Through a combination of both exams, we can customize your pets needs for acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy. While you may be very familiar with the Western veterinary examination, the traditional Chinese veterinary medicine examination takes a closer look at smaller details of your pet through their pulse, tongue, skin, eyes, gums, and general personality. There is a questionnaire that you will need to fill out in the new client paperwork section that will assist us in better understanding your pet.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is when a set of needles is inserted into various areas of an animal to relieve pain, reduce inflammation and muscle tension, promote blood flow, and improve nerve function. Each acupuncture point has a specific goal that can be beneficial for multiple areas of the body. This technique has been used in various veterinary practices for thousands of years and used to treat many ailments. Although acupuncture will not cure the condition, it will work extremely well when there is an issue especially in conjunction with their medications and other treatments.
All animals respond to acupuncture differently. Some have a higher sensitivity to acupuncture than others. The most common reason most animals will receive acupuncture is because of musculoskeletal problems such as arthritis, muscle pain, post-surgical pain, back and neck pain, and many neurological problems such as intervertebral disc disease, cervical, thoracic or lumbar myelopathy, degenerative myelopathy, seizures, canine idiopathic vestibular disease, and many others. Your pet can also benefit from acupuncture in conjunction with their current medications and treatments for allergies, chronic internal conditions such as kidney and liver disease, cancer, and many other ailments. Acupuncture can assist in treatment for all of these conditions as a way to provide additional pain relief when medications are insufficient.
Laser Acupuncture: If your pet is very sensitive to needles, another option for acupuncture treatment is laser acupuncture. Using our therapeutic laser unit on the appropriate settings with the acupuncture tip, we can do acupuncture without using any needles.
Aquapuncture: Aquapuncture is another acupuncture technique that causes longer stimulation at specific acupuncture points, determined by the acupuncturist, via a subcutaneous injection at the acupuncture point.
Electroacupuncture: This method of acupuncture is used to help specifically with nerve stimulation and used commonly in animals with neurological problems to help with regaining motor and nerve function, such as pets that have had back surgery or recent loss of function in their limbs.
Rehabilitation Therapy
If your dog or cat has recently had surgery, been injured, or is having difficulty/changes to their walk, one of the best ways to improve their comfort, gait, muscle mass, strength, neurological function, and to hasten your pets’ recovery is with rehabilitation therapy. Based on a thorough evaluation of your pet, we will customize a rehabilitation therapy program to your pets’ specific needs and provide a safe home exercise program for your pet. These exercises may range from neurological gait training exercises after an IVDD surgery, to muscle building after a TPLO starting with simple sit-to-stands, to more progressive activities targeting specific muscles or groups of muscles. Whether your pet has had surgery to repair a cruciate ligament and requires rehabilitation therapy, requires nerve stimulation/proprioception training to help their front, hind or all limbs to function after a spinal injury, needs specific stretches for muscle sprains and strains due to competition or active lifestyle, or your pet is slowing down and you want to prevent future injuries, we are ready to work with you to develop a rehabilitation therapy program for your pets’ recovery so they can live their best life.
Home Exercise Program
As a part of your initial evaluation and rehabilitation therapy program, a customized home exercise program will be developed specific to your pet at their current stage. Once your pet progresses, this program will change throughout their course of treatment. The home exercise program is vital to accelerating your pets improvement through their individual rehabilitation program along with being a great way to help with your pets success and deepen the bond between you and your pet.
Laser Therapy
As part of your pets’ rehabilitation therapy, laser therapy is used to help with endorphin release, vasodilation, muscle relaxation, decreased inflammation, faster wound healing and repair to improve their overall comfort and ability to heal. Each laser plan as part of their rehabilitation therapy will be based on your pets’ specific needs. Laser therapy can help with many conditions, such as but not limited to: arthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, surgical incisions, muscle injuries, and traumatic injuries.
Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field Therapy (PEMF)
PEMF therapy works by directing small amounts of energy toward a specific part of the body via a specialized magnetic device. This type of therapy has been traditionally used to treat acute and chronic pain by helping to reduce inflammation. Currently, it is thought that PEMF therapy improves circulation and cellular functioning by increasing the body’s ability to release nitric oxide. Nitric oxide release is a common healing mechanism following injuries, and it may help reduce inflammation. There are various studies on this in human medicine and being applied to veterinary medicine currently. We will utilize PEMF to help with your pets’ comfort for various conditions, and if indicated, it may be something we also recommend to have at home for long term use.
Mobility Device Consultation
As part of your initial evaluation of your pet, if indicated, we may recommend a mobility device to assist with everyday life, exercise, or for use during their home exercise program. Mobility devices include: specific/specialized harnesses, carts, neurological training devices, braces, and specialized slings. There are so many options available and we work with you to figure out which one will work best for your pet to achieve your goals for them. Dr. Carissa Hoffman has her Walkin’ Wheels Certification to be able to properly measure and fit your pet if needed for mobility devices.
Supplements and Herbals
As part of your pets’ comprehensive initial evaluation, we will recommend the most appropriate joint, muscle, or overall health supplement based on their individual needs taking into account any dietary restrictions you inform us of. If interested, we can also recommend herbal supplements to help with many conditions that should be taken in conjunction with medications prescribed by your primary care veterinarian. Herbals and supplements are not replacements for prescription medication, they are meant to work in conjunction with them.
Pain Medication Consultation
Another important part of your pets’ initial evaluation will be the discussion of pain management. With their rehabilitation program, we use a multimodal approach to pain management which includes the services listed as well as prescribing the appropriate medication for your pet. The number one goal of treatment is to improve your pets’ comfort.
