LEFT: Chiropractic has both a dubious past and a modern following, but many manual therapies are well-received by animals.

In the late 1980s, an animal chiropractic school opened in the United States. The prestigious American Veterinary Medical Association recognized potential benefits in veterinary chiropractic in the 1990s.

Still, many veterinarians have a contentious relationship with the animal chiropractic field. Their added difficulty comes when they accuse chiropractors of practicing veterinary medicine without proper licensing or training. However, these vets also note that if chiropractic were in fact veterinary medicine, then chiropractic would be commonly taught in veterinary colleges.

In North America today, the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association is the largest organization accrediting animal chiropractic education and certifying animal chiropractors. For veterinarians or human chiropractors, about 150 hours’ study and practicum is required to call oneself a Doctor of Chiropractic for animals. Many states and provinces have seen battles between veterinarians and chiropractors, with accusations back and forth about protecting consumers and protecting personal economic interests.

Like chiropractic for humans, animal chiropractic is not generally intended to serve as primary care but as an adjunct to conventional veterinary care. In the U.K., chiropractors cannot work without referral from a veterinarian. In Australia, only veterinarians and established chiropractors are eligible for advanced animal chiropractic training. While the United States now has several schools, and an accrediting body (the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association), chiropractic is still not generally considered the primary care system for animals but a complementary one in circumstances (such as athletic injuries or accident victims) that may especially benefit from manipulation therapy.

Animal chiropractic treatment is done via controlled manual thrusts which are intended to adjust subluxations in the vertebrae or other joints. More recently, instruments have been developed to administer these adjusting thrusts. These instruments are becoming increasingly common among practitioners. Mallets, cane ends, activators, percussors, and accelerometers are now used to make thrusts in an effort to manipulate the joint, especially on equine patients whose physical size can lead practitioners to want a mechanical advantage.

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