Pain Management and Rehabilitation in Canine osteoarthritis

Dealing with pain is a significant challenge for owners of companion animals and the provider of their medical care. Managing pain goes far beyond the administration of medications. It includes developing a strategy that will increase patient strength and fitness, optimize the pet’s body weight, implement a home exercise program, make appropriate use of safe and effective ambulation assistance devices, and optimize the home environment. However, to allow an effective rehabilitation program to be implemented and to achieve optimum results, logical, safe, and effective use of analgesics is required. This therapy must be tailored to the individual animal, should be multimodal, and needs constant reevaluation for efficacy and toxicity.