 Pain Therapy: Traditional Treatment for Pets - Part 1 |
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 Dr. Mark NewkirkOwner, Newkirk Family Veterinarians |
| View all articles by Dr. Mark Newkirk |
Pain. We all know it. We all have it to some degree. Pain can be our friend, as in removing your hand from a hot stove to prevent injury, but often times it lives with us as an unwelcome guest. Our pet friends may also have to live with chronic pain. Older pets have chronic pain and many do not vocalize it. People may make excuses for not addressing this issue, by saying, “he’s just getting old” or “she can’t jump up on the couch anymore” and “he has trouble getting up”. These can all be signs of chronic pain. Sometimes our pets become weak or col¬lapse on their hind legs when you scratch or press on their backs. Cats may not let you brush or pet them over their low back. Dogs and even cats may lick an area constantly causing discoloration and sores.
TRADITIONAL PAIN THERAPY
Advancements in pain medications have been rapid over the past few years. Many drugs are on the market now, and many are advertised on TV, such as Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Zubrin, and Metacam to name a few. These are the COX enzyme inhibitors. While a long and involved story, these enzymes are part of the body’s chemical reactions to injury that cause the actual sensation of pain. Narcotics act differently in the body and we also use the same human “pain patches” (Fentynal) for pets now as well as other narcotics for severe pain.
There are two general categories of pain. Acute pain, such as post surgical pain, injury or broken bones, and chronic pain, such as pain associated with “old age” and arthritis or disc disease.
Recent studies at North Carolina Veterinary School have shown that males seem to have more pain than females and that increased anxiety will make pain worse, and that cats seem to have more pain in the daytime and dogs at night. This is opposite their biorhythms (i.e. cats are night creatures and dogs are day creatures) and has to do with when natural cortisol levels are lower in the body.
For chronic pain, combinations of different classes of drugs work best. Many pain remedies are synergistic. That is that two different pain meds given together can be more effective than either alone. The dosage of each is less if given together than if given alone. Thus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (so-called NSAIDS) in combination with narcotics, (such as Demerol or Fentynal) will often work better together than alone. Chronic pain should be treated as it is well documented that pain causes depression of the immune system, can increase cancer metastasis, and decreases the effectiveness of physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Chronic pain has its origin in the central nervous system. Thus, drugs that affect brain chemicals work the best for this type of pain. Some medications for chronic pain are:
1. Tramadol is an opiod. Opiods act by increasing serotonin and decreasing pain wind up. Tramadol can be used alone or in combination with NSAIDS. This usually allows us to use less doses of each.
2. Amantadine. This drug mediates CNS sensitization, which is what sets up the chronic pain cycle.
3. Acetaminophen is making a comeback as a pain medication due to its new finding that it blocks COX 3 enzyme, which is a mediator of pain in the body. Unlike NSAIDS, you can use this drug in pets with liver and kidney or stomach problems. This drug should NEVER be used in cats however as it is deadly.
4. Piroxicam. An interesting drug used for pain. It is also an NSAID but seems to have some anti cancer properties, especially with bladder cancer.
Complementary Therapy
The best way to treat any pain condition is to blend the best of traditional and alternative therapy. These treatments then “complement” each other in the relief of pain and soreness. So the use of pain drugs, chiropractic, homeopathy and aqua-picture would be employed when faced with a pet with spinal disc problems for example. You can easily see that the blending of the therapies should create a faster, better result. For more information on alternative therapies, visit www.alternativevet.com
TRADITIONAL PAIN THERAPY
Advancements in pain medications have been rapid over the past few years. Many drugs are on the market now, and many are advertised on TV, such as Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Zubrin, and Metacam to name a few. These are the COX enzyme inhibitors. While a long and involved story, these enzymes are part of the body’s chemical reactions to injury that cause the actual sensation of pain. Narcotics act differently in the body and we also use the same human “pain patches” (Fentynal) for pets now as well as other narcotics for severe pain.
There are two general categories of pain. Acute pain, such as post surgical pain, injury or broken bones, and chronic pain, such as pain associated with “old age” and arthritis or disc disease.
Recent studies at North Carolina Veterinary School have shown that males seem to have more pain than females and that increased anxiety will make pain worse, and that cats seem to have more pain in the daytime and dogs at night. This is opposite their biorhythms (i.e. cats are night creatures and dogs are day creatures) and has to do with when natural cortisol levels are lower in the body.
For chronic pain, combinations of different classes of drugs work best. Many pain remedies are synergistic. That is that two different pain meds given together can be more effective than either alone. The dosage of each is less if given together than if given alone. Thus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (so-called NSAIDS) in combination with narcotics, (such as Demerol or Fentynal) will often work better together than alone. Chronic pain should be treated as it is well documented that pain causes depression of the immune system, can increase cancer metastasis, and decreases the effectiveness of physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Chronic pain has its origin in the central nervous system. Thus, drugs that affect brain chemicals work the best for this type of pain. Some medications for chronic pain are:
1. Tramadol is an opiod. Opiods act by increasing serotonin and decreasing pain wind up. Tramadol can be used alone or in combination with NSAIDS. This usually allows us to use less doses of each.
2. Amantadine. This drug mediates CNS sensitization, which is what sets up the chronic pain cycle.
3. Acetaminophen is making a comeback as a pain medication due to its new finding that it blocks COX 3 enzyme, which is a mediator of pain in the body. Unlike NSAIDS, you can use this drug in pets with liver and kidney or stomach problems. This drug should NEVER be used in cats however as it is deadly.
4. Piroxicam. An interesting drug used for pain. It is also an NSAID but seems to have some anti cancer properties, especially with bladder cancer.
Complementary Therapy
The best way to treat any pain condition is to blend the best of traditional and alternative therapy. These treatments then “complement” each other in the relief of pain and soreness. So the use of pain drugs, chiropractic, homeopathy and aqua-picture would be employed when faced with a pet with spinal disc problems for example. You can easily see that the blending of the therapies should create a faster, better result. For more information on alternative therapies, visit www.alternativevet.com
- By Dr. Mark Newkirk
- Published 11/13/2009
- Pets
