Veterinary approaches to pain management in animals have changed over the past few decades from believing pain was necessary for healing to treating animals until certain they are no longer in pain, as animals cannot verbalize their pain. Veterinarians have several options to treat animal pain, including NSAIDs, analgesic gels, and when drugs and massage are insufficient, alternative therapies like acupuncture. Careful monitoring of an animal's behavior is important to determine if it is experiencing pain.

1. Pain Management forAnimals
By Jay Butan, DVM

2. Introduction
 Approaches to pain management in animals have changed
significantly over the past few decades. For many years,
veterinarians believed that pain was a necessary part of the
animal healing process, because it kept pets from becoming
active before they were fully healed. Today, many
veterinarians instead treat animals until certain they are no
longer in pain.
The ethical questions surrounding pain management in
animals can be complex. Because animals cannot speak as
humans do, veterinarians and owners have to judge pain
through cues in behavior that can be difficult to interpret and
sometimes go unnoticed. Many medications developed for
human pain relief are less effective in animals, but for years,
animal dosing schedules were based on efficacy in humans.
Ethical problems also derive from the fact that in order to
test drugs intended to diminish animal pain, some animals
must be exposed to pain during drug trials.
Vets and animal owners alike can agree that animals should
not be exposed to pain unnecessarily. To determine whether
an animal is in pain, watch it for unusual behavior such as
biting, whining, listlessness, acting out of character, or
appearing unable to get comfortable.

3. Pain
Managemen
t
 Veterinarians have a number of options to treat
animals for pain, including medications like
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesic
gels. Some human pain medications can be toxic to
animals even in small amounts, so it is very important
to consult with your veterinarian before administering
pain medication to animals. If drugs and simple
interventions like massage are unsuccessful,
nontraditional medicine like acupuncture,
homeopathy, and aromatherapy can be performed on
animals as well.
About the Author
Owner and operator of Canal Animal Hospital, Jay
Butan, DVM, has helped pets and other animals in the
Lake Worth, Florida, area for more than 20 years. Dr.
Butan provides pain management for pets as well as
numerous other medical and nonmedical services
including specialized surgery, ultrasound, radiology,
day care, pet bathing, and more.