Can A Service Dog Provide Help For A Shoulder Injury

For sure rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, having a service dog can provide multiple benefits. Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, RhMSUS, FACP, assistant professor of internal medicine, Division of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, has recommended the apply of service dogs to patients with adequately severe RA, including those who have difficulty walking, bending or using their shoulders.

"Service dogs can offer physical support to an RA patient when they move," Dr. Kumar says. "Having a service dog tin can besides encourage patients to move more, considering they aid with mobility."

Ballad Sneath-Zeiders is an administrative banana for Canine Partners for Life, Cochranville, Pa., an organization that trains service dogs to assist individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities. She says the organization'south service dogs are fitted with custom harnesses with handles on tiptop. "This [harness] allows the canis familiaris to assist someone with balance and stability when walking," she says, citing feedback from graduates. "With the harness, [a] dog tin can actually be used instead of a pikestaff or crutch. We have found that individuals tend to fall less with a dog [than with] a cane, considering the canis familiaris can anticipate when someone starts to lose their residue and aid accordingly."

For people with fatigue, a canis familiaris can provide a gentle pull that reduces the amount of free energy exerted, Ms. Sneath-Zeiders adds. Service dogs are too trained to pick up items off the basis, reducing the owner'due south need to bend over. Additionally, they can carry items, help patients become dressed or undressed, open and close doors, take out the trash, call for help and remember specific items or people from some other room.

Bharat Kumar, Dr., MME, RhMSUS, FACP

Because RA is associated with loneliness and low, a service domestic dog tin can too offer patients companionship. And Dr. Kumar has noticed an comeback in mood for RA patients who take service dogs. When pregnant evidence of disability and compromise exists for a patient, Dr. Kumar begins considering recommendations for a service canis familiaris. He consults with principal care providers, psychiatrists and other members of the patient'due south healthcare team to identify patients with emotional challenges. In some cases, the information for using a service dog may be much stronger from a comorbid condition, such as depression, than for RA.

For less severe RA cases, Dr. Kumar may shy away from recommending a service dog because having one may not be necessary for the patient. "Dogs crave some upkeep," he says. "The patient has to weigh the pros and cons. No age restrictions be to authorize for a service dog, but a patient must be able to intendance for a dog."