Understanding Pain: Damaged tissue releases chemicals that sensitize nerve endings. Response to pain travels through the nervous system up the spinal cord to the cortex of the brain, where pain registers and triggers a protective reflex. This “learned avoidance” teaches pets to thereafter steer clear of the candle flame, for instance. Pain also prompts a pet to protect or rest an injury so it heals. Not all pain is severe or sudden, or requires heavy-duty analgesics. “Long-acting steroid products given to reduce inflammation of the skin are a type of pain management,” says Dr. Tranquilli. So are antibiotics that cure a sore throat, while chronic joint pain typical in older pets can be relieved with a heat lamp. Allergic pets get temporary relief from cool water, which is a natural anesthetic for skin, says Dr. Shawn Messonnier, a holistic veterinarian and author practicing near Dallas. Extreme pain, though, prompts a stress response that alters immune function, interferes with blood clotting and wound healing and adversely impacts the cardiovascular system. Extreme pain can permanently alter neural pathways, creating a neurological “memory” so that pain continues long after the injury has healed. Because chronic neuropathic pain is extremely difficult to treat medically, human anesthesiologists prevent this condition by incorporating a nerve block along with general anesthesia. Pets can also be given a local anesthetic into the spinal cord to act as a regional nerve block that prevents the pain message from ever reaching the brain. “Recent studies show if we preempt pain by doing medical therapy before we make the incision, pets don’t need as much post-surgical medication,” says Dr. Messonnier. Preemptive pain therapy also reduces the amount of general anesthetic required, and alleviates post-surgical side effects. For example, preemptive pain control in chest surgery promotes easier postoperative breathing because drawing deep breaths is not as painful. But pain management can interfere with other treatment, says Jennifer Reding, a veterinary technician in charge of post-surgical pain management at Veterinary Surgical Associates in San Mateo, California. “You have to be very careful that you don’t overmedicate and suppress vital signs,” she says. “Sometimes pets are so sick that pain management is way down on the list – first we want to make sure they live.”
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 05:56:27 +0000