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BONDED CLIENT / Pain Management


In a World of Hurt Are you doing enough to manage pain for your patients?


By Kelly Smith T


here was a time when the words “pain management” and “veteri- nary industry” rarely occurred in the same sentence. Times have changed. Current thinking revolves around the


notion that pain management in animals, whether for acute or chronic conditions, can bring about faster healing along with a host of other benefits. Pain manage- ment is well worth the investment of time and energy. Rather than allowing an animal to


suffer, many practices are asking, “Am I doing enough pain management?” Trends spoke with veterinarians who


are well-versed in the field of pain man- agement, as well as the president of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM), in order to explore the topic and share their findings regarding effective strategies.


Why it matters AAHA partnered with the IVAPM for


the AAHA Phoenix 2013 Yearly Conference last month. There, IVAPM representatives provided continuing education on a vari- ety of pain management-related topics. Mike Petty, DVM, is president of the


IVAPM, and owner of Detroit’s Arbor Pointe Veterinary Hospital and the Ani- mal Pain Center. Petty is a certified Veteri- nary Pain Practitioner, a certified Medical Veterinary Acupuncturist, a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Manage- ment and a certified Canine Rehabilita- tion Therapist.


Trends magazine, April 2013


“The most effective pain management technique is to


recognize that there is no single ‘best’ way to manage pain.” —Robin Downing, DVM, CVPP, CCRP, DAAPM


“We have chosen to bring animals into


our homes as pets,” Petty says. “As such, owners have the obligation to seek medi- cal help, and veterinarians have the obli- gation to be the pet’s health care advo- cate. Veterinarians must also be willing to refer the animal out when treatment requires a subset of skills they might not have. Veterinarians are often quick to refer for acute issues such as a bone frac- ture or acute liver failure but not so quick for chronic issues like osteoarthritis that they might not be adequately treating but over the long term causes much more suffering than the acute condition. There’s always something you can do.” Practice manager Julia McPeek, BS,


MS, and Shelley Brown, DVM, founded Harmony Veterinary Center in Arvada, Colo., in 2010. Each brings years of


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