Osteopathic Manual Therapy in Veterinary Practice

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Veterinary medicine has never been better equipped. And yet, anyone who has spent time in a clinical setting knows the frustration of the unexplained lame dog — clear radiographs, no swelling, no obvious cause — sent home with a short course of NSAIDs and a note to wait and see. These cases are not rare. They are a routine feature of general practice, and they point to a genuine gap that conventional diagnostics alone cannot fill. Sandra Sculli's thesis approaches this gap from the inside. Drawing on years of direct clinical experience alongside a review of published research, she builds a considered argument for the integration of osteopathic manual therapy into veterinary practice — not as a fringe offering, but as a core component of patient care for dogs and horses. The thesis works through the statistical reality first. Osteoarthritis affects the vast majority of dogs over five years of age in the United States, and is among the leading causes of lameness in equine athletes. Yet the default response — NSAIDs and corticosteroids — carries a well-documented burden of side effects, particularly in older animals already managing concurrent conditions like chronic kidney disease. Sculli is not dismissive of pharmaceutical treatment; she is interested in what sits alongside it. Osteopathic therapy is examined for its capacity to address not only musculoskeletal presentations, but idiopathic neurological issues, post-surgical rehabilitation, and the kind of low-grade dysfunction that standard diagnostics overlook. The argument for prophylactic care is particularly striking — the possibility that routine osteopathic assessment could prevent injuries before they happen, including the cruciate ligament tears so frequently seen in dogs who sprint from a cold start. The thesis concludes with a practical vision: in-house osteopaths, shared records, educated owners, and a clinical culture in which body-wide assessment is the norm. It is a readable, grounded piece that will resonate with practitioners curious about what better-integrated care might actually look like.