OA: do you take a whole-practice approach?

Chris Ritchie — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:57:18 GMT

In this month's Vet Edge, Nichi Cockburn offers some practical tips on veterinary teams refining their approach to supporting rather than exacerbating chronic pain, arguing that chronic pain may hide in plain sight.

How much do you do this? Do you view this as a priority in consultations even if the animal isn't directly presented for something OA-related?

From my perspective as a cat owner, and mindful that my old dog was not assessed for anything OA when her legs were failing her, I don't recall my then vets taking any particular steps such as those Nichi suggests:

• Provide written pain management plans.
• Encourage owners to record videos of mobility at home and to regularly complete their chronic pain scores, for example before every nurse mobility clinic or medication check-up.
• Train all team members – from receptionists to nurses – to recognise pain indicators.

The full article is here, from page 30: indd.adobe.com/.../df696ccb-38db-4b36-9143-1a507b86242e

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OA: do you take a whole-practice approach?