These days, emotional and psychological problems like depression, anxiety, ADHD and behavioral problems are just as prevalent in pets as they are in their owners. Similarly, physical ailments such as diabetes, arthritis, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders, cystitis, kidney and liver disease, skin disorders, obesity, thyroid dysfunction and other problems are becoming more and more common in domesticated animals.

Many, if not most of these conditions can be prevented by helping your pets to live a healthier lifestyle. For pets already suffering from existing conditions, a combination of lifestyle changes and natural medicine can work wonders!

What are the symptoms of muscle and joint conditions?

Dogs:
• Overall stiffness especially after rest
• Whimpering when getting up
• Difficulty climbing stairs or climbing in and out of car
• Reluctance to exercise
• Lameness
• Unusual movements (for that particular animal)
• Disjointed or wobbly gait
• Swelling and tenderness in limb or spine
• Shying away from being stroked along their back
• Thickening of the Joints of the affected limb
• Favoring the use of one limb more than another
• Irritability

Cats:
• Overall stiffness especially after rest
• Crying when getting up
• Crying when being picked up
• Difficulty climbing stairs
• Reluctance to exercise
• Lameness
• Unusual movements (for that particular animal)
• Disjointed or wobbly gait
• Swelling and tenderness in limb or spine
• Shying away from being stroked along their back
• Thickening of the joints of the affected limb
• Favoring the use of one limb more than another
• Irritability

There are a number of reasons why your pet could develop joint or muscle problems. Sprains and strains are fairly common in many active animals and certain animals may be more prone to this than others.
Cats especially may have nine lives but their constant leaping from roofs and trees can put stress and strain on their joints, especially if they are overweight.

There are also a certain number of medical conditions such as arthritis (an inflammation of the joints which is most common in older pets, especially dogs); spinal diseases such as spondylosis and spondylitis (also more common in older pets and particular in dogs) and hip dysplasia (a malformation of the hip’s ball and socket which is more common in dogs but may affect certain breeds of cats).

Certain breeds of dogs and cats may be genetically more prone to developing conditions such as hip dysplasia and spinal problems.

How are muscle and joint problems usually treated?

For many conditions, conventional treatment is largely symptomatic, aimed primarily at reducing pain and inflammation and keeping the animal as comfortable as possible.

Splinting, casting or surgery may be also be necessary. While prescription anti-inflammatory medication may help to ease the pain, it can also play havoc with your pet’s stomach lining, sometimes leading to ulcers and digestive problems with chronic use.

Prescription medication may ease the pain and inflammation, but would have little healing effect.
How can natural remedies help?

Nutrition is a key element in the treatment and prevention of many muscle and joint problems.
As part of a holistic approach to treating your pet, natural remedies can help to build and strengthen your pet’s immune system, encourage the elimination of toxins, strengthen and protect his skeletal system and generally improve the overall health of your animal – in addition to alleviating and treating the specific problems associated with muscle and joint problems.

Other components of a holistic approach to therapy, especially in relation to alleviating and treating the symptoms associated with muscle and joint problems, include aromatherapy, acupuncture and chiropractic.

What is Muscle and Joint Support?

Muscle and Joint Support capsules are specially formulated for pets and contain a unique formula combining herbal medicines, biochemic tissue salts and nutritional substances all well known for their therapeutic and protective effect on the skeletal system, including muscles, joints, cartilage and tendons.

Muscle and Joint Support is an excellent choice for pets suffering from arthritis, rheumatism and degenerative joint disease and can also be used as a tonic and preventative in animals known to be susceptible to joint and bone ailments.

Article courtesy of PetAlive

When you bring home a pet it means you are adding a member to the family. Just like other members of the family, pets too require health care. Although sometimes you will see a veterinarian prescribe similar to human drugs for your pets, health care for pets is however pretty different from what we are used to in regards to humans.

One of the most common mistakes that we commit is with regard to feeding our pets. We usually tend to associate our own dietary habits on our pets without realizing that pets are animals and are structured differently. For example, dogs require to be fed according to their weight and that too only once or twice a day. On the other hand, some pets like cats and dogs need to be neutered to avoid strong urine and unwanted pregnancies.

The important thing to remember is that you have your friends, family, and recreation, but your pet has only you. Pets too get sick and develop allergies. They also are source of certain allergies to humans too. Many of us do not realize that like any other family member, even pets can get heart attacks, arthritis, behavior problems, cancer, diarrhea, and other ailments that we generally associate with humans. This requires pet owners to be aware of all pet health related issues.

We handle minor ailments in humans easily with information passing down from generations. Small things like calming aggressive behavior, ticks, vomiting, and leaking bladder in pets need treatments that you have to be conversant with. Sometimes it is simply a matter of sugar content in food, or how many times a week you give your pet a bath that is the cause behind your pet behaving abnormally or developing symptoms of an ailment.

Physical changes in your pet are also important and a monthly hands-on examination will go a long way in understanding whether anything serious is developing. Troubled signs include exposed skin, thin or dry coat, ribs showing, lethargy, limp, or simply the absence of “spring” in step.

As with human medication nowadays, there are lots of alternate remedies available for pets too. You can ask your veterinarian or visit the World Wide Web for alternate remedies for pets. You may choose homeopathic medicine for your pets. There are also specific cat herbal remedies and dog herbal remedies available too and a thorough research on the subject will ensure a trouble free life for your pet and go a long way to enjoy having one at home.