Frequently Asked Questions in FL

Veterinary orthopedic manipulation (VOM™) is a healing technique for dogs, cats, horses and other animals that re-establishes normal nervous system communications in a variety of disease and injured states. VOM™ comprehensive healing technology precisely locates areas of your animal's nervous and muscle systems that have fallen out of proper communication or balance with the rest of the body and the brain. VOM™ is then used to re-establish communication and balance in these areas thus reducing pain AND inducing healing.In addition to lameness, hip dysplasia and knee disorders, VOM™ is an effective treatment for problems of the digestive, urinary and endocrine systems, urinary and fecal incontinence and performance and behavior issues.

Animals often suffer from the same ailments people do but sometimes have a harder time showing us that they hurt. Animals can suffer from disc herniations, back and neck pain, hip and shoulder dysfunction, and even jaw pain. If your animal has trouble getting up and down the stairs, trouble rising, limps, drops food, or yelps when being picked up, we can help. Other signs to watch out for include irritability, decreased performance, stiffness, puppy sitting, muscle spasms, or simply them “not being themselves.”

The work is so successful because it finds the causes and does not just treat the effects. With or without symptoms, it identifies problem areas that often times can’t be seen with the eyes or felt with the hands. The work locates and reduces or removes involuntary and pathological reflexes called “reads” that are found only in animals when there is blockage, imbalance or miscommunication between the brain and the body. When the “reads” are found, they indicate either neurological static or muscle imbalance. When these reflexes are removed or reduced, patients usually improve!

Subluxation is reduced through the application of motion in an affected joint. In VOM™, this motion or force is applied with a hand-held device called a spinal accelerometer that looks like a spring-loaded doorstop.

Virtually every system of the animal’s body is affected by nervous system connections. Misalignments or “subluxations” are often the underlying cause of disease processes and the reason for failure to heal from injuries. VOM™ relies on the animal’s innate ability for self healing. It is a precise science for accurately finding, reducing and confirming 100% of neuronal subluxations. VOM™ is a safe, highly effective and easily applied technology that totally eliminates human error from manual palpation and is effective regardless of the animal’s state of relaxation.

Absolutely not. The beauty of the work is that it provides the exact amount of force to reduce nerve, joint or muscle stress without having to jerk, twist, or yank on the body. VOM™ only works on detected subluxations by turning on neuronal switches on that are turned off. It cannot work in reverse and turn a switch off. In the over 35,000 documented animal adjustments, no animal has been injured with the accelerometer. This includes pets with fractures, tumors and acute spinal diseases. The speed of the spinal accelerometer is 5-10 times faster than an animal’s ability to resist adjustment.

The better question is, what can’t we work on? The answer is: not much. Severe traumas need emergency services, but once cleared we can work around the areas until they are healed enough to be worked on directly. Bone tumors cannot directly be worked on but they can be worked around if we think it will help quality of life. Open wounds, surgical incisions etc. need to heal first. Pre and post surgical cases respond great, and are usually up and about quicker than without the work!

- Lameness
- Hip dysplasia syndromes
- IV disc disease
- Progressive myelopathies (in dogs’ rears)
- Urinary and fecal incontinence
- Wobblers’ disease
- Diseases of the knees
- Diseases of the esophagus
- Digestive disorders
- Endocrine diseases
- Performance problems
- Behavioral problems
- Agility problems
- Many more

• A “diagnostic pass” is done by running the spinal accelerometer device down the animal’s spine. This detects “pathological reads” that indicate the presence of subluxations. These are recorded by the instrument.
• A “therapeutic pass” is done with the same instrument and changes to the reading pattern are noted. Signs of improvement may be present.
• A second “therapeutic pass” is done and the data is evaluated. Most if not all of the abnormal reads may be reduced at this stage.
• Your animal will be scheduled for a follow-up appointment and you will receive post-adjustment instructions related to activity and possible temporary discomfort that may be present for a short time. Bicom treatment and medicines may be given to reduce these transient effects.

The VOM™ series consists of an initial session and 3-5 readjustments to reach a point where no pathological reads for subluxations are found. Treatment is concluded when the subluxation pattern is “cured.” When treatment is concluded, maintenance checks are recommended every 4-6 months to observe for reoccurrence.

It is quite possible for you to see a response while your animal is on the examination table. Practitioners experienced in VOM™ have successfully treated cases who haven’t walked for weeks and been given up for dead. In some cases, it has happened that the animal stood up and walked out of the examination room after a single adjustment trust from VOM™. In general, animal owners can expect to see some sort of positive response within the first week after treatment. Often the clinical complaint is eliminated within the first three adjustment sessions. Animals with long term paralysis or lack of function may not respond well to VOM™ but it is worth a trial. Treatment failures are most often due to extensive permanent neurological damage and/or a failure of the pet owner to keep scheduled VOM treatment appointments.

VOM™ can be an effective treatment for horses. Treatment of horses however is somewhat different than in dogs and cats. All the subluxation “pathological reads” seen in dogs and cats using VOM are magnified in horses. Subluxations in the shoulder area of horses, generally absent in dogs and cats, are hot spots in equines.

VOM™ is not to be confused with chiropractic care that also seeks to restore function through the reduction of subluxations. Unlike VOM™, chiropractic treatment relies on manual palpation and a cooperative and relaxed patient to accurately detect and treat “subluxations.” Because of a failure to identify all “pathological reads” associated with subluxations, chiropractic can be expected to detect only 40% of subluxations. VOM™ on the other hand, easily identifies all “pathological reads” that produce subluxations and provides a fast, effective way to reduce them for optimum healing to occur. Unlike manual chiropractic where 50% of domestic animals can be expected to cooperate, VOM™ delivers 100% adjustments regardless of position, temperament or tension in the animal. Adding to the effectiveness of VOM™ technology is a built-in rescheduling protocol. This inserts the patient on a self-regulating readjustment interval.

Among organizations that formally recognize VOM™ are the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the Maine Veterinary Medical Association, the German Shepherd Clubs of America and the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association in Washington State, to name a few. Because VOM™ is not animal chiropractic care, it is not taught or recognized as an approved treatment by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA).

Dr. Carswell is not a veterinarian, nor does she practice veterinary medicine. She is a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), certified in the VOM™ healing technologies. Dr. Carswell works with your veterinarian to develop a plan tailored specifically for your animal. Dr. Carswell also specializes in many other holistic modalities such as nutrition, muscle work, and acupressure.