How does the veterinary chiropractic practitioner know his back is out?
There is a certain amount of movement in every joint in the body. Each joint shows a certain range of movement (ROM) and a certain quality of movement (QOM). In the animals spine, between each vertebrae this movement exists, unless the animal has a pathological condition and the movement is lost. When the animal has back pain there is a change in the surrounding soft tissue as well as the ROM and QOM of the vertebral facet joint. There is also often inflammation and pain. It is necessary to know which direction each vertebrae moves and the plane in which the facet joints move. After many thousands of examinations the veterinarian gets to know what feels normal and what is abnormal, where and most importantly in quadrupeds what is a primary lesion and what is a compensational lesion.
