April/May 2008
Volume 1, Issue 2



Natural Pet Care Now Available

Every year more and more people are turning to alternative medicine practitioners for non-drug and non-surgical approaches to combat diseases and promote health. This does not replace necessary medical intervention for situations such as emergency care, life-threatening infections, and numerous serious diseases. The same holds true for our pets. Animals need standard veterinary medical assistance (annual physical, vaccinations, heartworm protection, dental care, flea control, etc.), but there are instances when alternative and complementary approaches can handle conditions that traditional veterinary medicine cannot.

One such non-surgical approach focuses on handling spinal disease and lameness through the use of a hand-held adjusting instrument. This awesome technology is called Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation (VOM). VOM is a fast, effective, objective healing technology and accurate diagnostic method for all animals. It includes a special regimen in which the average number of adjustments per animal is approximately 6. No animal has ever been harmed or injured since the inception of this procedure over 20 years ago when treated by a Veterinarian or Chiropractor that has been trained in this procedure and attained the status of Certified Veterinary Chiropractitioner (CVCP).

This technique simply involves a gentle adjustment, with a hand-held adjusting instrument (an activator), to the segments of the spine that are causing nerve interference, abnormal reflexes, and ultimately loss of function in the animal. Nerve interference can result in:
lameness
 weakness
 incontinence
 clumsiness
 decreased exercise tolerance
pain
 accelerated aging
 postural changes
 paralysis
 behavioral/temperament changes
One other condition that can improve from the removal of nerve interference by VOM is hip dysplasia, which is seen in less than 5% of x-rays taken and has no adequate traditional veterinary cure.  A muscle called the psoas, which attaches to the front of the hip joint, can become weak due to nerve interference and go into spasm pulling the hip bone forward eventually causing hip degeneration due to too much "joint play."  This is not typically due to an acute injury and usually develops over many years due to degeneration. Adjustments to the area of the back where the nerves that go to this muscle originate have been found to be incredibly effective in helping dogs with this condition, particularly those in the earlier stages.  VOM could potentially reduce a dog’s odds of getting hip dysplasia especially if the dog receives treatments even as young as a puppy, despite the fact that there is a genetic component making some dogs more susceptible to developing this condition.

Dr. Nedd is a Certified Veterinary Chiropractitioner, but is not a licensed veterinarian and must be directly affiliated with a licensed veterinarian when working with cats, dogs, and horses. Dr. Nedd has had some great success stories including helping a red-nosed pitbull puppy that was paralyzed from a spinal cord injury regain full function of his legs, a barrel-jumping horse heal from an injury in just 2 days to compete and win in a major national event, as well as his own cat overcome hyperthyroidism which in rare cases can lead to cancer.

In addition to spinal and bone adjustments, Dr. Nedd incorporates cold laser therapy, acupuncture, and specific nutritional supplements as needed when working with your pet. Dr. Nedd is available to see dogs and cats by appointment on most Saturdays from 10 AM - 2 PM at the Day & Evening Pet Clinic, the office of Al Paredes, DVM, located on 3206 Alt. 19 Hwy. in Palm Harbor. You can call (727) 785-7200 to make an appointment.


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