Pain Management for your Pet

Bartlett Animal Hospital, PC is excited to be able to offer two new techniques for treating your pet's pain.

Stem Cell Therapy

Stem cell therapy has been used for a number of years for treatment of painful tendon, ligament, and bone injuries in horses. It has now been adapted for use in companion animals for treating chronic osteoarthritis, tendon and ligament injuries, non-healing fractures and other musculoskeletal problems. Dr. Nelson has completed the credentialing course and is now trained in the application of stem cell therapy for pain management in pets. In order to better serve our clients' pets, and as a referral for other veterinary hospital clients' pets, we are now able to offer this alternative treatment at Bartlett Animal Hospital.

Ideally, stem cell treatment is used on pets who either cannot tolerate anti-inflammatory medications or who are not sufficiently helped by them. A single treatment may bring relief for anywhere from a few months to over a year and may decrease or eliminate the need for additional pain medications.

For more information on stem cell therapy, call us or visit www.Vet-Stem.com where a number of news stories on this unique therapy can be viewed.

Class IV Therapy Laser

Laser therapy is now being used to treat pain in pets. In order to better care for your beloved companion, we have invested in a new laser therapy unit.

Therapy lasers use deep-penetrating light waves to stimulate cells to produce anti-inflammatory and other mediators which speed healing. They can also be used to help decontaminate wounds and lesions. Unlike surgical lasers, therapy lasers are "cold lasers" and generate very little heat. They do not burn the patient and are exceptionally safe.

Therapy lasers have been used for a number of years, but until recently, they were primarily Class III lasers which do not penetrate as deeply as the Class IV lasers. They are used in veterinary and human medicine alike (several of these units made the trip to Beijing with the US Olympic Team). The Class IV Lasers, such as the one recently acquired by Bartlett Animal Hospital, PC, have deeper penetration and treatments can be accomplished more quickly than with the Class III lasers. Most treatments can be done in less than five minutes.

We are excited about how laser therapy can help your pet! The laser can be used for acute pain such as wounds, surgical incisions, intervertebral disc disease (back pain) or for chronic pain such as osteoarthritis and lick granulomas. Laser therapy can be used to decontaminate wounds and lacerations, treat chronic otitis, decrease inflammation or edema and can increase healing time of fractures. Some disorders can be improved with a single treatment but chronic disorders require multiple sessions over several weeks and most likely require occasional follow-up treatments to maintain pain relief.

We are also excited to be able to offer this new treatment to our feline patients with chronic arthritis who, until now, have had extremely limited options for pain relief.

For more information on laser therapy, call our office or visit www.companionlasertherapy.com and click on the Pet Owners link.