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| Setting animals straight |
By: Pat Beck
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Posted: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 11:10 am
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Seth Nelson, doctor of chiropractic at Cornerstone Wellness Center in St. Peter, treats 3 1/2-year-old Sheltie (Shetland Sheep Dog) Tasha for chronic bursitis in her shoulder on Saturday in her third visit. Dog owner Julie Watson (right) said, “After th
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As a Doctor of Chiropractic, Seth Nelson works with people in helping to alleviate their physical pains.
But as a Certified Veterinary Spinal Manipulative Therapist or an animal chiropractor for short, he also works with animals.
“Just like I work with humans, I work with animals,” Nelson said. “It’s just a different approach, a lighter touch and I have to be a little quicker because my human patients don’t bite me or kick me. The biggest difference is the amount of force used. Most animals require little force to be adjusted, about as much as a young child.”
Ten chiropractors in the state are licensed for animals, and Nelson is the only one in southern Minnesota. He completed a 260-hour program to get certified by the state and starting working with animals as chiropractor last March.
Animals also react differently than humans to treatments.
“People tend to tense up a little bit when they’re at the chiropractor and that’s normal,” Nelson said. “Animals very much relax into what I do. Even with the biggest horses. I work with big Morgans, even once in a while Clydesdales, these are enormous animals. If they don’t want me to do what I’m doing, I’m not going to do it. I can’t wrestle a horse that large, so they relax into me and work with me, so it requires less force and just being specific in where I’m adjusting and how I’m doing it.
“Because animals can’t talk like we can and tell me where it hurts, you have to really pay attention to their body language, breath rate, their heart rate and their anxiety level, so that you don’t do too much and leave them feeling sore or hurt.”
Animals actually get in line to be treated. When Nelson went into a barn with several horses and treated one, they all wanted treatments.
“If I’m treating one, after the first visit, the next time I’m there all the horse will get in line, come over and see what I’m doing and try to get adjusted,” Nelson said. “Dogs will push each other out of the way to get adjusted. They’re very aware of what I’m doing.”
Nelson treats all kinds of animals, whether athletes or pets. He’s treated cats, donkeys, mules and a pygmy goat .
“It doesn’t matter if your dog is training to be a champion barrel rider, a world class confirmation show dog, a racing dog or a couch potato,” Nelson said. “Most people have animals because they love pets. And no wants to see their pet hurt or limping or unable to lift their head up or chew their food. The higher percentage of my patients are people with pets who they can tell are not comfortable any more or are hurting.
The types of animals Nelson treats depends on the season. “In the winter, it’s a lot more dogs,” Nelson said. “In the summer, it’s more horses. People tend not to do a lot of trail riding or competition with horses in the winter, so they tend hang out in the pasture and the barn. When they to start to get active with them, I start to get real busy with horses in the spring, summer and fall. Right now, 85 percent of my client base is dogs. Dogs slip and fall, just like we do, twist their back, twist their neck, jumping up and down off of things and end up getting hurt.”
The most common pains he sees are low back injuries and neck injuries. He also treats jaw pain and cramps when female dogs or horses come into their cycle and have low back pain. “They respond real well to being adjusted,” Nelson said. “Sometimes it’s agility dogs who aren’t jumping as high as they do and just getting them adjusted for those last few inches that they’ve been missing. The dog jumps up and down out of the truck or the horse has somebody on it who isn’t the best rider in the world or they compete at a very high level. Injuries happen just like they happen with us.
“Animals tend to be very good at masking pain because in nature an injured animal is a target. We may see little changes in how much they eat or their energy levels around the house and they’re really hiding the fact that they’re hurting bad.
“I see a lot of geriatric dogs. When I started training, my biggest success was my own 13-year-old dog who started to have real bad arthritic pain in his neck. We were at point where I was afraid that he was going to get put down. He couldn’t lay down because he started screaming so bad. Within a couple of times treating him, he was back to playing with our 1- and 2-year-old Afghan running around the yard like he was a puppy again.
Nelson got into the field because of his love for natural health care and for animals
“I love natural health care and I’ve been a huge animal person all my life,” Nelson said. “I grew up showing dogs and going to field trials. My mom is a judge of field trials all over the nation. All summer long she’s traveling and judging, so I grew up with a pack of dogs. I learned to walk hanging on to the side of an Afghan. I couldn’t imagine life without animals in it. So I get to fulfill a passion. I love splitting my day up treating humans in helping them feel better and then I get to treat an animal, pet them and feel better, too.”
Nelson and his wife, Kristina, have a 6-year-old Saluki dog, but he grew up with Afghans and Salukis and occasionally a greyhound. They race Afghans. Last year he did his first straight-line racing, and he beat the 2007 and 2008 national champion. The also do lure coursing, which is a longer race, and it’s not so much a speed race as it is the ability to follow and run clean A lure race is about anywhere from 700 yards to 1,200 yards long, where a straight-line race is about 200 yards.
The Nelsons, who moved from Lake Crystal to St. Peter in October, jog/walk with their dog in the morning and afternoon. On weekends, when they get a chance, they let the dog run around at his parents land in Lake Crystal. “My parents have 6 acres fenced in there, so they get to go out there, chase each other and run every day.
“They’re very lovable, but they’re very time demanding, very independent. I would liken them more to a cat than normal dog they need a lot of space to run and are not good off leash. When he gets off leash and sees something to chase, I’m not going to catch him until he decides he’s ready to be caught.”
Pat Beck can be reached at pbeck@stpeterherald.com or (507) 931-8566.
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