I met Kingston, a beautiful 5 year old Great Dane, back
in December 2014. In November 2014
Kingston had been frolicking with his best friend Cleo – a 10 month old English
Mastiff – when he fell backwards into the pond. Unfortunately for Kingston, this meant he
partially tore his right cruciate ligament.
When I met him he was being rested by his pet parents and
was on lead walks only…no free range galloping around on the property!
Options provided for recovery were rest and confinement, and
surgery. His owners didn't want to
go down the surgery route so were looking at other options.
The first time I saw Kingston I noted that he was not
bearing weight on his right hind limb and his medial stifle joint felt larger
on palpation than the left. The second
time I met him, we discussed hydrotherapy as a compliment to the massage, to
help build up the strength of the muscles in his right leg as he was on minimal
other exercise.
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From a massage perspective it is important to not only work
the tissue around the affected limb but also work the whole body. On most occasions I see him I release trigger
points in various places which means knots are being worked out from his
muscles. By keeping the tissue healthy
and flexible in his other limbs, and throughout his body, it reduces the chance
of further injury due to stiffness and tension.
By way of example I broke my rib go-karting once and I’m sure it had
something to do with the tension and stiffness in my body which meant that on
impact I didn't flex, I snapped L
Massage is not going to “cure” or “mend” the torn ligament
but together with the regular hydrotherapy he is now weight bearing more and
reports from the family are that he seems happier in himself. He is still not fully functional in that leg,
and he might not be but the massage and hydrotherapy has formed an important
maintenance plan for him.
I absolutely love my sessions with Kingston – he greets me
so enthusiastically every time I arrive….and he even snored for me once J
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