When the Adjustment Isn’t Enough

This week, Chloe started vomiting.

Naturally, I checked and adjusted her first. But the adjustment didn’t help.

That told me we needed more information.

We took her to the veterinarian, where she received X-rays and bloodwork. Nothing alarming appeared except constipation, so she was given fluids and released.

Chloe came to the office with me, received another adjustment, and then went home.

But she continued vomiting.

She still wouldn’t eat.

I adjusted her again, but her condition wasn’t improving. At that point, we returned to the veterinarian.

More X-rays were taken. This time, they used barium to follow what was happening inside her digestive tract. After further evaluation and an enema, the real problem finally revealed itself:

Chloe had swallowed a hair tie.

That small hair tie had been tying up her digestive system and preventing things from moving normally.

Thankfully, it was evacuated.

Afterward, Chloe received another adjustment as supportive care while her body recovered from the vomiting, dehydration, constipation, repeated handling, and veterinary procedures.

Now she is eating again.

This experience was an important reminder that chiropractic care and veterinary medicine are not competing choices.

Chiropractic can support movement, nervous-system function, and recovery, but it cannot remove a swallowed foreign object.

When an animal continues vomiting, refuses food, or fails to respond as expected, we have to keep looking.

The first test does not always reveal the complete answer.

The first visit does not always resolve the problem.

And sometimes the smallest household object can create a very serious situation.

Chloe needed veterinary diagnostics and treatment to identify and evacuate the hair tie. She also received chiropractic care to support her body throughout the experience.

Both had a role.

Being an animal chiropractor does not mean I assume every problem can be corrected with an adjustment.

It means I pay attention to how the animal responds, recognize when something more is happening, and work alongside veterinary care to help that animal receive what she needs.

This time, what Chloe needed most was persistence.

We knew she wasn’t acting like herself.

We kept asking questions.

We went back.

And we didn’t stop simply because the first round of testing didn’t reveal the answer.

Today, hearing her eat again is one of the best sounds in the world.