Pain Management Service

What is the significance of pain?

Animals suffer from pain-just like humans. Fortunately, this is not subject to discussion anymore. Over the last years, significant progress has been made regarding management of acute pain in animals. The diagnosis and therapy of chronic pain, however, remains problematic. In fact, diagnosis of pain requires exact and well-trained observation capacities. While acute pain may make physiologically sense (use-sparing of an injured limb), chronic pain is pathological and reduce the quality of life of the animal. Therapy of chronic pain is also more of a challenge in animals and humans. Reasons may be multiple, but oftentimes conventional medications do not suffice.

What are differences between chronic and acute pain?

As mentioned above, chronic pain is pathological and therefor to be regarded as a „disease“ that impaires quality of life of your animal. There is no consistent and clear definition of chronic pain, but as a general line of thought, we think about longer persistence (> 3 months). In chronic pain states, we very commonly see chnages of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. This leads to pain even in the abscence of externally obvious defects.

The recognition of such chronic pain poses challenges for all involved, and consequently requires a close collaboration among pet owners, veterinarians and specialists.

Does my pet have chronic pain?

Oftentimes, distinguishing between normal ageing and chronic pain is difficult and the following points may prove helpful in the diagnosis of chronic pain.

Does my dog have chronic pain?

• My dog has a lameness!
• My dog cannot jump well anymore!
• My dog tires more quickly during walks!
• My dog displays changed behavior!
• My dog does not want to play anymore!
• My dog is often restless and pants frequently!

Does my cat have chronic pain?

• My cat is less mobile than before!
• My cat displays changed behavior, e.g. urinates suddenly in the house or is aggressive!
• My cat is less active than!
• My cat has difficulties to clean itself!

If any of the above statements seems true for your pet, please discuss this with your veterinarian or ask him for a specific pain evaluation with us!

What does analgesia mean?

Very brief: elimination and therapy of pain. During analgesic therapy around the period of an operation, strong analgesics (such as morphine) can be administered, but also specific analgesic techniques as loco-regional anaesthesia (such as epidural anaesthesia) are commonly used by us.

Analgesia, however, is not limited to the phases around an operation, but but implies also the therapy of pain, such as a lameness, that are indicators of diseases of the locomotory apparatus (muscles, joints and bones).

Today, life expectancy of our pets is prolonged (as that of humans), and we see and increased incidence of tumors and their related specific pain. Again, the recognition of pain in these animals is not always easy and requires a close collaboration between pet owner, veterinarian and specialist.

How is therapy of chronic pain?

There is no patented recipe for pain from for example a certain tumor. Therefore, it is very important to tailor therapy to every single animal: together with you as pet owners we individualise pain therapy for your pet until the quality of life is restored. Very often this implies combinations of medications with other therapeutic actions (acupuncture, physical therapy, weight reductions, nutritional supplements and so forth).

Who we are

We are veterinarians specialised in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. After our normal veterinay schooling we underwent a three-to- five-year-long training in anaesthesia, analgesia and intensive care. We are european specialists and have decades of experience in therapy of animals with acute and chronic pain. Additionally, we have an acupuncturist licensed for humans and animals and trained in traditional chinese and western acupuncture among in our team.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture bases on neurophysiological principles. The introduction of needles causes a stimulation of nerve-endings in skin and muscles. This stimulation enhances via nerve-reflex-bows release of the body’s own pain-reduceing substances.

In acupuncture, we use very fine needles and most animals show no defense reaction at all to their introduction. Some animals even fall asleep during treatment. Needles are left in place for 20 to 40 minutes. Not all animals respond perfectly to acupuncture (just like humans). Specifically chronic pain is a classic indication for acupuncture. Sometimes, the beginning of effect after acupuncture is delayed and up to 5 sessions may be required before an effect is seen. Alongside therapy of the locomotory apparatus, acupuncture may be used in treatment of pain of other origin, such as tumors.