Being Prepared

 

Milly is a 7 year old Maltipoo (with a bit of Bichon Frise) who is due to have a cruciate operation on her right knee in the summer.   She currently has Grade II medial patella luxation in her right hind and Grade I to II medial patella luxation in her left hind legs. 

Her Mum wanted to book a session to learn how Milly could be helped now – to get her in top condition prior to surgery – and then to carry on the therapy for her post-operation rehabilitation.  What a considerate Mum!

Milly was initially a little uncomfortable with any touch near her rear end, understandably as she had been holding that area tight and scrunched.

But touching her anywhere else generated a smile, soft eyes and resting ears – she loved all of that and we knew we were onto a winner with on-going therapy for Milly.

We went through an appropriate set of massage techniques and leg strengthening exercises that would suit Milly now to make sure all her muscles are healthy and toned, but could be adapted later for rehabilitation.

By the end of the session, Milly was lying down on the mat allowing us both to work with her anywhere on her body – she’d started to understand the difference between therapeutic touch and petting.

 

“Her strength shows me how it can be done… mind over matter”

 I had an emergency call for help from Marley’s Mum.  Marley is a 13 year old Staffie who suddenly lost all use of her rear left leg.  Her vet suggested suspected neurological trauma as there was no proprioception or superficial pain reflex although deep pain reflex was present.  They advised that the issue was likely disc or spinal disease and it was unlikely that Marley would regain use of that leg.  They advised physical therapy to maintain tone in the muscles of the left rear leg and keep the remaining legs strong.

We managed to see Marley the next day as it was clear that both her and her Mum needed help as soon as possible.  Her Mum needed some hope.

Marley was determined.  Oh, so determined.  She was not going to give in.  She managed to get herself into the therapy room with her three working legs which had quickly adapted to keep her moving.  She reminded me so much of our Sarah who never accepted her limited abilities.  She still wanted to enjoy her life and wasn’t going to let wobbly legs get in the way.  Dogs have a strength and grit that is simply awesome.  No wonder the term “dogged” is used for tenacity and persistence.

Marley’s left rear leg muscles were already showing signs of softness while her other limb muscles resembled those of a weight training athlete.  Everything needed help, but in different ways.  Left rear leg needed pumping massage and stimulation, while front and right rear leg muscles needed help to make sure they didn’t overexert themselves and tighten up restricting movement further.

Her mid back was also tight, understandably.

Marley had brought along her two human sisters to help their Mum with the therapy routine. 

By the end of the session, which Marley thoroughly enjoyed, she was moving even more fluidly.  I sent through a personalised workbook of what to massage, why and ways to ensure the left rear leg is kept stimulated while she is not using it herself

The next day her Mum wrote “I wanted to give you an update on Marley.  She is weight bearing on the leg and is showing signs of using the muscle in the upper leg……The improvement this morning after seeing you last night is phenomenal (I am secretly hopeful and believe she may use the leg again).  Marley is definitely the strongest dog I have ever met and her strength shows me how it can be done… mind over matter.  Oh and I tickled her toes earlier and she spread her paw!.  You and your partner are amazing people and extremely kind.  I will keep you updated. DAY 3 and look how far she has come”

The following day an additional text “I was doing her massage this morning and she curled her bad paw round my hand”

And a week later...“Marley saw the vet yesterday, the vet is confident that she will regain full function!! She told us that you can see the work we have done for her and that is because of your immediate help.   Thank you for supporting me through this process.  It really was true team work.  Thanks for passing that knowledge and seeing what I see in her”

Now that was the feedback we wanted to read.  With hope from the carer, determination from the dog with some empowerment and knowledge sharing from us, team work has helped Marley to recover and maintain some mobility. 

 

“I feel we will both benefit from not feeling like victims to her condition”.

 

The lovely Gracie was a good example of how we can help you to help your dog.  She is a 4 year old Lab who has chronic lameness on the right fore-leg.  Veterinary X Rays showed OA changes bilaterally over her elbows with suspected bilateral elbow dysplasia.  The vets suspect she might have osteophytes on the anconeal process on the flexed lateral elbow views which will cause her limping when these catch during movement. 

They offered her Mum a couple of options.  Conservative management with pain medication, weight control or referral for a CT scan.  If these showed a fragmented coronoid process, they could consider removal, although they suggested that even if we surgically remove these fragments, she might not show huge clinical improvement.

Her Mum wanted to try conservative therapy with massage and exercise as a starting point.  This could potentially help relieve Gracie’s lameness but would also be a perfect plan for long-term maintenance by massaging her regularly.  Then, if Gracie showed little improvement after a while, option 2 could be commenced.

Gracie showed all the classic signs of protective standing where she had been over-using her other limbs and muscles to protect that left arm from discomfort.  This, in turn, had caused compensatory issues with those.  Helping ease the tension that had arisen should hopefully start to re-balance her gait.

As the session continued, Gracie settled feeling more comfy and relieved.   

As well as demonstrating and preparing an appropriate massage routine, her Mum and I designed a series of exercises which would gently start to use the weaker leg again.  An addition was our special quick and effective Locomotion warm-up and cool-down routine.

At the end of the session, Gracie gave us both a huge long downward dog stretch, something she hadn’t felt able to do for a while. 

Later her Mum wrote “I received her/our workbook and printed it out for reference and will start today. We have already bought a message mat which we shall use just for that so that she knows what is happening!  She has enjoyed her warm ups prior to walking and warm downs too!.....So, now to some pleasurable work for Gracie and me! We have a lot to learn and enjoy over the next few months. Then I will reassess how she is and take further steps from there” 

And a few months later…..”She is doing very well!  Running with other dogs.  We keep up the evening message - she demands it!”

She also wrote “I feel we will both benefit from not feeling like victims to her condition” which is exactly what I hoped to achieve with our ‘Helping you to help your dog’ philosophy.

 

Helping you to help your dog

 

As a Canine Physical Therapist with over 8 years of experience treating our own dogs and, as a successful business, hundreds of other dogs, I have discovered that, where seeing a professional undoubtedly helps, that isn't the whole story.

The therapist can't always be on hand 24/7 but you, their carer, on the other hand, are more likely to be.  By teaching you a regular massage and exercise regime that, together with a personalised workbook with illustrations of the techniques applicable to your dog, you will be able to support your dog.  This applies equally whether that’s an agility dog with warm-up and cool-down routines, a less able dog through disease or recovery from surgery, or an older dog needing help with mobility and arthritis.

With this focus towards helping you help your dog, I have found my regular dogs benefiting far more from this regime than just the therapist's visit.

The dogs get a massage whenever they need it rather than when it fits the diary - even daily if necessary.  They get their stretches, their exercises, their rehabilitation whenever is convenient. 

In addition, we can discuss easing access for your dog - flooring and non-slip surface adjustments, ramps to ease passage up/down steps and refer back to your vet for issues that may require further investigation.  Lifestyle changes like this, will help all day long and every day.

A famous person once said “The way you protect your power is not to hoard it, but to pass it on”…well actually it was Buffy in Season 7 but you get the idea.  Rather than just showing you a couple of massage strokes, which might mean you having to go back to the therapist time and again, we help you develop your own skills and empower you with a full physical therapy routine that you can apply regularly with your dog.  But we will still be there for help should you need further assistance.

Give me a call or drop me an email if you’d like to have a 1 to 1 session where we help you to help your dog.   Sessions will be held here at AchyPaw HQ in Saltdean.