Chiropractic is an integral part of the holistic trend in animal health care. A holistic philosophy stresses the integration of all the external and internal influences on the organism in the study of health and disease. Holistic therapies are designed to intervene at the appropriate level and to work with, not against, the inborn homeostasis of the organism. This differs from pure allopathic philosophy that treats symptoms, often separating and isolating those symptoms from the entire health paradigm of the patient.
Chiropractic offers tremendous potential in animal health care. It belongs in the health care spectrum along with medicine, surgery, acupuncture, homeopathy and other such modalities. Chiropractic care does not pretend to encompass the entire study of health and disease, but it does offer alternative explanations for disease and provides complementary therapy. The foundations of chiropractic philosophy are based on the intimate relationship of the spinal column to the nervous system, as well as the role of the spinal column in biomechanics and movement.
The Postgraduate Animal Chiropractic Courses offered by Options for Animals were the first of their kind in the world. All other programs that now exist were developed from those programs. Most of the knowledge used to cultivate the first program was extrapolated from the human chiropractic profession. Both functional theories and techniques were used to explain clinical results. The last fifteen years have demonstrated the tremendous benefit that animals receive from the integration of animal chiropractic into the veterinary clinical practice.
Dr. Garrett has been an active part of the Animal Chiropractic Community since 2006.