Although he d prefer you not call him doctor, Daniel Kamen turned an early education in music into a lifelong devotion to the harmonics of body mechanics.

Finding himself drawn to the subtle melodies of wellness, Daniel began studying chiropractic, ultimately achieving his degree in chiropractic in 1981. It was a fascinating study, though not without its detractors and, as his career had meandered to that point, Daniel found himself following the organic rhythms of opportunity and need in the clients he was serving.

One of my first human chiropractic patients had a horse who was in pain, explains Daniel. Happy with the pain relief results he had experienced under Daniel s care, this patient invited Daniel to work on his horse.

And, as I wasn t too busy with people, I had time to look at his horse, and work with him. Lo and behold, what I did worked, and I started getting calls from other horse trainers asking me to work with their animals. That s when I knew it was time to dig in and learn more about animal chiropractic, Daniel says.

Daniel earned his certification in animal chiropractic in 1992 from the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, (AVCA) after studying at the highly respected Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. Palmer College was one of the country s early pioneers in animal chiropractic education, with its early forays of teaching chiropractic techniques dating back to around 1915.

The fascinating aspect of treating animals, like horses, with chiropractic care is that, unlike humans, animals don t come to their treatments with any cognitive bias. Even the pain they feel is often only subtly conveyed.

Daniel says, You have to watch them move. The expression of their pain is typically not as obvious as limping. They might short stride, hesitate in turns, lift the hip higher & show signs of pain avoidance. Mostly you have to watch them in action, know their usual movement, and recognize when something is off in their gait.

And when their pain is relieved through chiropractic treatments, horses simply express their relief in freed-up movement.

The concepts of chiropractic are universal to all species. It starts with a crossover of theory and principle and practice, from animals to humans, says Daniel. Vertebral subluxation chiropractic speak for nerve irritation either through trauma or toxicity of the body, can be alleviated by adjusting vertebrae, manual muscle work as well as physical therapy modalities such as electrotherapy, ultrasound and cold laser therapy.

However, allowing for the much larger spines of equine patients, and the much smaller spines of most dogs and cats, Daniel says, smiling, There are very few techniques I would use on people that I use on animals. The angles and forces are different.

The practice of animal chiropractic has been emerging in the last 20 years. Daniel says the AVCA has certified about a thousand licensed veterinarians and chiropractors since 1989. I ve trained, at least in part, a majority of the (animal chiropractic) practitioners practicing today, says Daniel.

Speaking to the rise in popularity of this effective wellness modality, Daniel says, People are aware of it. Most of the racetracks now have their own equine chiropractor. I ve had over 5,000 students in my seminars.

And, at this month s Farmfair, you ll have the opportunity to hear Dr. Kamen instruct on equine chiropractic in workshops he s hosting on Monday, Nov. 7, in Northlands Edmonton EXPO Centre in Hall B at 11 a.m. and again at 6 p.m.

For more information about Dr. Daniel Kamen, visit www.animalchiropractic.com. You can also check out www.vetrolaser.com, and click on News and Announcements for video clips demonstrating equine adjustments in action.

Edmonton Kubota is the presenting sponsor of headlining equine clinicians and the presenting sponsor of Farmfair equine clinicians and seminars. .

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There are very few techniques I would use on people that I use on animals. The angles and forces are different.

DANIEL KAMEN