Tips on Assisting Aging Pets Suffering from Arthritis

Tips on Assisting Aging Pets Suffering from Arthritis

Arthritis seems to be synonymous with aging for animals just like humans. As you or your pet gets older, you are more than likely to have to deal with the debilitating effects of arthritis. Some say the Western medical world has a difficult time explaining, let alone curing, arthritis.

Chinese Medicine, on the other hand, looks at arthritis in terms of energy stagnation, which tends to pool at or around the joints in the body, leaving one with the feeling of limited range of motion. Expanding on this definition, Chinese Medicine says our energy system runs along certain energy pathways, much like a train running through a subway system.

When our energy becomes sluggish or stagnant, it pools and it slows everything down, which can cause a build up and actual physical hardening in certain areas of the body. This is what happens in the case of arthritis, the body fluids tend to become dense and deposit themselves in the areas of the joints causing animals to have a harder time moving.

Most of us are aware of at least one of the common Western ways of managing animal arthritis with the use of Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM supplements, anti-inflammatory drugs such as Rimadyl (suspected of being toxic to the liver) and exercise.

If you explore some natural alternatives you may find that these alternatives may assist your animal in easing, or possibly eliminating, the effects of arthritis on their bodies.

So how can we solve the effects of arthritis using alternative therapies? First, assist your animal's energy to flow naturally and smoothly: feed your animal (dog or cat) a diet consisting of dry and wet food in a 50-50 ratio. Dry foods alone tend to cause damp heat in the body and can eventually lead to stagnation, a leading precursor to arthritis.

If your animal is in declining health, or you simply wish to help them revitalize their body, then try feeding a proper raw diet with proper supplementation (magnesium, phosphorous and enzymes are a must). This type of diet can be an excellent option to assist in revitalizing health and lessening the effects of arthritis as well as a host of other diseases.

If you have a very active animal, or an animal that has suffered an injury, have your animal adjusted by a qualified animal chiropractor a few times a year. Chiropractic care helps keep your animal's body in alignment and reduces wear and tear on their joints.

Invest in a whole food micro algae supplement, as algae are highly effective scavengers and play an important role in reversing some of the effects of arthritis.

Finally, this may be something you may be able to do at the first sighting of stiffness or compromised mobility, begin regular acupuncture treatments so that stagnant energy does not have time to pool and become a problem. Acupuncture works to get energy flowing. Although arthritis can be a problem for aging pets, you now have some tools to try to effectively slow down arthritic effects and help your animals move through aging easier.