We have four chihuahuas at our house, all of them seniors now. Age has affected some of our dogs more than others, and Rocco has ‘won’ the genetic lottery for arthritis. He has arthritis in his hips, knees, back and elbow now.
When he just had arthritis in his knees, he was able to compensate with other parts of his body. As more parts develop arthritis however, he’s starting to walk like a 90-year-old man. We’ve tried a number of things to help, ranging from supplements to chiropractic to various medications.
Many of the things we’ve tried have been solid misses, some have done really well. Cold Laser Therapy helped Rocco in a big way. Since we found it so profoundly helpful, we’d like to share a little bit about it.
What is Cold Laser Therapy
Cold Laser Therapy uses low levels of infrared or near infrared light to treat various ailments in your dog’s body. It’s called cold laser because unlike stronger levels of laser light, it isn’t hot and can’t cut the dog or injure it.
Cold Laser Therapy is though to act on the mitochondria part of cells. Mitochondria are responsible for cell energy, as well as playing a role in cell growth and death.
When dogs receive cold laser therapy, it can help give them a non-invasive boost in healing, as well as reducing inflammation and general pain.
The Science Behind Cold Laser Therapy
We tried cold laser therapy because I saw a poster on the wall of my vet’s office advertising it. Rocco at the time was in so much pain he needed help standing, and mostly, chose not to. We followed the recommended protocol of 2 sessions a week to kick things off, and by the end of the first week he was able to jump on the couch.
He’s not the only one. Cold Laser Therapy is an FDA approved medical intervention for humans for a variety of ailments. An examination of the literature available in 2018 found many positive results. There’s vast quantities of data on humans, and small studies on dogs are just beginning to come out.
Ask Your Vet for It
If your dog has a problem with arthritis, ask your vet about cold laser therapy. Our clinic offers it, but even though I brought my dog in for a visit specifically about his arthritis, it wasn’t offered. Not all vets have a cold laser therapy machine, but if you speak to your vet about it they may be able to refer you.
Cold laser was extremely beneficial, and also cost effective compared to medications. While we’re now doing cold laser on his back, the therapy on his hips and elbow lasted long after treatment was over.
I’m very pleased with this part of his treatment and looking forward to reporting how the other recommendations our vet suggested or agreed would be a good idea, work out.
We will be trying a homemade diet with ingredients designed to reduce inflammation, and a new joint supplement. If these treatments seem to work well, we’ll make posts about them.
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Every dog is different and therefore each treatment is tailored to the specific needs of each animal. This means that precisely how many sessions of this non-invasive and painless procedure your canine pal will need will depend on their individual circumstances including the severity of their health problem.
[…] Off the coast of New Zealand, there is a native tribe known as the Maori who have eaten Green Lipped Mussels for centuries. The Maoris are unique for a number of reasons, but one of the most remarkable is that they almost never get arthritis. […]