Chiropractors???

[soggybottom]

Anyone used one before for cattle? I have head some stories and some have been good and others just seemed like nothing helped. Wondering what the general consensus is beyond my area?

 

[simmyman67]

Hmm idk but I fit for a Chiropractor's kids and I have not seen him work on a calf yet.

 

[Sambosu]

I recently had a certified animal chiropractor work on my son's heifer.  He has adjusted the heifer twice over the past 5 weeks and I plan on having him come out again next week.  I am glad I had one come out because I am seeing an improvement in the way she walks.  The heifer fell down hard at a show onto her left hip and started to become stiff in the back end and started to waddle when she walked.  He was able to pin point some problem areas but the biggest problem was her pelvis is tilted very badly and has been working to straighten it up.  The heifer showed a lot more flexibility the second time he came out/a lot more receptive to the adjustments.  I am planning on using him one or two more times if she continues to show improvement.  There is a animal chiropractor on this site and his id is BRdoc.  You might want to pm him some questions.

 

[american honey]

Are livestock chiropractors used alot?

 

[blinggirl]

We didnt have a chiropractor come but someone that worked with one .. and we had a heifer that got caught in a squeeze chute by her hips . and popped them out of place but not bad enough to make her not walk at all just made her stiff and not stride out ..and with the hips being popped in place the next day she walked like a cat ..she would run and jump to tie out or in the lot at night when before she would hardly walk anywhere with out you making her !

 

[Sambosu]

From what I have learned over the past five weeks, they do a lot of work on horses.  My friend is a vet, roper and horse ranch owner.  He and a lot of his friends swear by them.  I decided to try it because we had a lot of money invested in the heifer and I was afraid her body might wear out faster then normal once she is put to pasture and is required to do a lot of walking.  So far I am happy with the results.

 

[comercialfarmer]

Honestly, no.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that is what you are getting on here.  No matter your credentials, your opinion is your opinion.  For any treatment to be labeled effective, there must be studies- extensive double blind studies, proving that the specific treatment in question is effective at relieving or curing a specific disease or condition and is statistically significant and is repeatable . 

And there are no studies supporting Chiropractors are effective at treating diseases in animals.  If it were effective, there would be statistical support.  This is the most basic principle of science.  Throw this out the door as most alternative medicine proponents want, and you have to chunk all known science with it.  Can't change the rules to fit what you want. 

In Texas, the board of veterinary medical examiners have gone as far as requiring a signed acknowledgment by the owner or other caretaker of an animal, that chiropractic care is considered by Texas law to be an alternate (nonstandard) therapy.  (http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=22&pt=24&ch=573&rl=12)
That says a lot to me right there. 

My personal belief is that time will heal a lot of injuries, and Chiropractors are willing to take the credit. 

I know one of the country's most talented equine surgeon very well.  We got into a discussion about this one day. I asked him if he would ever refer someone to a Chiropractor.  He replied that some people you can't argue with.  If they believe it works, I let them waste their money.  When they get tired of that, I fix the problem. 

Chiropractic shenanigans and the fact that you can market any nutritional supplement with having 0% to 2000% of what it claims to have on the label is legal, since they are not FDA regulated and apparently honesty in advertising does not apply, are my pet peeves.  Stepping off the soap box now.   

 

[comercialfarmer]

We didnt have a chiropractor come but someone that worked with one .. and we had a heifer that got caught in a squeeze chute by her hips . and popped them out of place but not bad enough to make her not walk at all just made her stiff and not stride out ..and with the hips being popped in place the next day she walked like a cat ..she would run and jump to tie out or in the lot at night when before she would hardly walk anywhere with out you making her !

Totally not picking on you here, but on what you were told and using this experience to illustrate my point.  If your heifer was caught in the chute by her hips, it would not surprise me that she was stiff and sore.  However, how do you know that your heifer would not have walked normally the next day without a visit by the chiropractor?  You really don't.  

You also don't really know if the calf just had deep muscle bruising or mild ligamental strain, etc..  

Notice in the video below showing the reduction of a dislocated hip, that the person is anesthetized to allow the muscles to relax/control the pain as the leg is manipulated.  With the muscle tone a calf will have while awake, this would not be able to happen.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGQZaqB48rw

Modified attempt number 3 to add video:  pastehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGQZaqB48rw

 

[KSUwildcat2009]

It's been our experience that the only thing Chiropractic work in animals fixes is injury.  If you have one that is bad structured, its not going to fix the problem, although it might temporarily relieve it.  The guy who does ares does massaging in the area he's going to adjust and has us hold the heifer on a loose lead.  We let her stand wherever she wants and however she wants.  To me it's no different than human chiropractics.  The place I got to puts you on a table that massages you from top to bottom for about 4 minutes before you get adjusted.  Just helps relax your muscles and makes the adjustment easier. 

A girl I work with had her dog adjusted after she fell out of the truck (she's an older dog).  She said it was night and day difference.

I'm a believer in it.  It's helped with spine issues and it's also helped a few of ours with attitude issues too.  When we were working on them, they were uncomfortable because their spine was out of line.  I know I get cranky when mine's not right