I recently met an ageing pooch with spondylosis.
He was receiving hydrotherapy treatment to strengthen
his hind limbs and provide some gentle exercise. Whilst he was standing waiting for his
session I could see the muscle atrophy through his hind limbs, and his balance
was off too.
He wasn’t a client of mine but I briefly felt around his
neck and chest area and noted that his whole front area was rock solid. This particular dog would be more prone than
others to a bulked up chest area due to his genetic build, however a lot of the
tightness would likely come from compensating for the issues generated through
his spinal and hind limb area.
Consider for a moment what happens when you are on all fours
on the floor....seriously, get down on your hands and knees so you are on all
fours and try this; Now remove one leg from the floor so you’re balancing on 3
limbs – note how your balance shifts and you put more weight through the other
limbs to compensate; Now put that leg back down and try to haul yourself
forwards without using your back legs to propel you - notice what happens
now? Ok, so I know this is an extreme (and simplified) example but it’s worth just reflecting for a minute on what our dogs have to contend
with.
Now imagine you were to go for a walk in the water. This would obviously help you because the
buoyancy of the water would mean the pressure on your joint and limbs would be
less, but you’d still be working that front area and not fully releasing those tight
muscles. Imagine how much free’er the
movement would be, and the dog would feel, if the muscles (especially around
the front) weren’t as tight.
Massage can really help relieve the pain associated with
overcompensation, and the mobility and flexibility can be encouraged by
releasing tension in the tissues.
So whilst the inspiration for this post came from seeing a
dog with spondylosis, the same principle can be applied to any dog with any of
a number of hind limb issues…Massage combined with hydrotherapy is extremely
beneficial J
Watch out for my next post… I took Asha to receive some treatment
earlier and I’ll tell you all about it….
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