Giving a Hand

VOM/Chiropractic Care

Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation is a chiropractic type treatment that looks for areas of the animal‘s nervous system that have fallen out of communication with the body, and treats these areas. This type of chiropractic treatment is one of the holistic services we offer at Companion Animal Wellness Center as part of our integrative veterinary medicine approach.  VOM does not use manual manipulation techniques that normal chiropractic treatment involves. That means treatment does not consist of the manual “cracking” of joints as in human treatments. Because animals cannot talk and tell us where or how bad an area hurts, this manipulation free adjustment actually makes VOM safer than traditional chiropractic treatment, and virtually eliminates any chance of harming or hurting your pet. We find that our animal companions enjoy their VOM treatments, and we can often see results that show how beneficial these therapies can be. 

VOM falls between traditional chiropractic care, veterinary physical therapy, and deep tissue massage. All chiropractic modalities treat a lack of neurologic communication by identifying a vertebral segment or joint that is ”out”, and provides motion or force to this joint to put it back into place. In the spine, these out of place joints are called vertebral subluxation complexes (VSC). The goal of treatment is to modify the disease process and restore the communication between the spine and the central nervous system. VSC’s are joints that are not moving properly and are often times locked into an abnormal position due to a chronic problem. This causes the body to be unable to move properly and forces the body to modify or adapt the way it moves in order to avoid pain.  Through VOM we will work towards restoring balance to your pets.  VOM and acupuncture are commonly used together to achieve maximum benefits.