Cat or Dog Pain Control

Does Your Pet Have Adequate Pain Control?

There are many options available for pain control in the dog or cat. The one chosen will depend on the pet’s age, any other health issues, any other medication he is on, ease of treatment, cost, type of pain, degree of pain, location of pain, cause of pain, and degree of inflammation.

First of all, you need to know how to identify signs of pain in your pet. The most common are as follows:

1. Lack of interest in previously fun activities or quitting the activity soonerf
2. Sleeping more, or panting more
3. Restlessness, abnormal head and neck carriage or limb use
4. Slow to rise and slower moving, especially after a night’s sleep
5. Intermittent whining or sighing at rest
6. Behavior/personality change – becoming grouchy or clingy
7. Secondary weight gain from lack of activity

A dog with acute post-operative pain from a fracture repair will be controlled differently that an elderly dog with chronic arthritis, whether it has been chronic for 2 months or 2 years. The longer a pain persists, the harder it is to control because of resultant changes in the biochemistry as well as the receptors of the nervous system. Our pain control therapy has different targets depending on the type of pain the pet is experiencing. Nearly every animal coming to use for rehabilitative therapy is experiencing some type of pain. Often rehab cannot safely begin without first effecting some stronger pain control. Anyone who has been in physical therapy will attest to the fact that there will be some discomfort involved, at least initially. If we fail to take this into consideration, the dog will not only be hurting, but will quickly become resentful of our efforts, and we will all have a much harder time of it. As therapy progresses, and the patient’s condition and strength improves, pain control will be modified several times throughout our work together. Sometimes the rehab can worsen pain and again, our protocol will be reevaluated and modified. It is important for us in rehab to maintain close communication with the surgeon or primary care veterinarian as well as the animal’s owner to insure that the pet remains comfortable during the healing process.

What are some of the ways to help a painful dog or cat? The simplest and most underutilized is cold. Ice is beneficial for acute pain immediately after surgery or injury, or pain after exercise or trauma, or pain from muscle spasms. The cold by itself is anti-inflammatory: it decreases histamine and enzymes that cause further inflammation. Cold decreases the metabolic rate of the tissue, decreases active bleeding, and decreases the inflammatory cells in joints. These are only some of the positive effects that cold will have on damaged tissue. Most of our rehab patients end the session with 15-20 minutes of some form of ice therapy. Everyone has a bag of frozen peas that has been in the freezer for 3 years – they make great ice packs!

Another method we use often is therapeutic ultrasound. It stimulates tissue repair and healing by modifying the flow of fluid in the ultrasound field. This is used most often with tendon or older muscle injuries.

A very common method of pain control for people in physical therapy is electrical stimulation (TENS), we use quite a bit of it in dogs as well. The main mechanism is endorphin release that lasts for several hours. Depending on the type of stimulation used, this can be helpful for acute pain right after surgery or for chronic pain issues.

There is the newer targeted electromagnetic field therapy that we have had success with. It also promotes tissue healing and lowers inflammation. The animals do not even feel the field effects – I can attest to this after trying it on myself and my own dog. There are a few therapies for pain that do have anecdotal benefits such as acupuncture, cold laser, therapeutic laser, and shock waves.

Of course there are the various classes of medications. There are medications that are available for analgesia like Tramadol® and Galliprant®. There are also the popular anti-inflammatories like Rimadyl®, Deramaxx®, and Previcox®, which also have analgesic properties. There are “disease modifying agents” like the joint supplements either oral or injected that help with pain by improving the overall health of the joints. There has been recent use of human medications that target certain receptors for nerve pain or specific chronic pains, with variable success.

We can’t forget about modifying the environment of, for example, an arthritic dog to cause less pain in its daily life. Some examples: put a ramp on the steps, pieces of carpet on slippery floors, be sure feed and water bowls are at a comfortable level (between the elbow and shoulder), orthopedic pet beds where the animal prefers to rest. The benefit of mild exercise can not be overstated in the older arthritic dog. This happens to be the most common cause of pain in dogs: osteoarthritis. If your elderly dog is showing signs of pain, please have it evaluated. There is no need for it to languish in discomfort, and meds are not the only option anymore.