Pain is a Pain

Recently when suffering a barometric pressure-change headache I was thinking about pain in our companion animals. We can’t ask them where and how it hurts, if the pain is worse with certain activities or at certain times of day. As veterinarians we have to play detective, and try to figure things out with physical examination and lab test findings, and integrative veterinarians have extra tools such as knowledge of trigger points, Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine diagnostic points and meridian flow. Guardians need to be ever aware of subtle changes in behaviour that may be an indication of pain in your beloved companions. Here is a good article on picking up those subtle changes, http://bit.ly/apdFOb
All of the injuries and disorders that can cause human beings pain can cause pain in animals.
Complementary therapies for pain such as acupuncture, massage, cold-laser therapy and herbal medicine can safely combine with or even replace the use of painkillers such as opiates, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) and other pharmaceuticals.