Postural Changes in Dogs - How K9 Bodycare Can Help Your Dog...

Name: Ronnie
Location: Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Reason for treatment: Canine Postural changes due to soft tissue trauma
Age: 9.5 years old
Breed: Whippet

Ronnie is a 9.5 year old whippet who lead a really active life until 2 years ago when on one particular walk while having great fun, running around and chasing everything in sight he leaped in the air and landed awkwardly causing him to scream and roll around in severe discomfort

When I met first met Ronnie 12 months ago he was subdued, unwilling to be touched around his lower back and hindquarters, held him self in a protective and anxious manner, showed signs of stiffness and lack of reach in his overall movement.

During palpation, Ronnie was very tense in the neck & shoulders, sensitive around the abdomen and the Thoracic & Lumbar region and suffering with wide radiating Myofascial Pain. His Gluteal & Epaxial muscles bilaterally were extremely tight and his owners reported that they had not been able to touch or stroke Ronnie along his back and hindquarters, however gentle and were unsure if he would let me.

Approach to Treatment

It was important to build a relationship with Ronnie to gain his trust; so he knew I was there to help him. I started by laying my hands on his body (passive touch) and talking calmly encouraging relaxation, using light massage techniques and returning to passive touch when needed.

Once Ronnie was relaxed, I moved gently to his shoulders, back, ribcage and abdomen to warm the muscles, before introducing other Canine Massage techniques; Deep Tissue, Myofascial Release and the Lenton Method™. Focusing on realignment of muscle fibers, mobilisation of the deeper layers of muscles and the release of trigger points & fascia, thus returning the dysfunctional muscles to a mobile condition and improving comfort levels, posture and the tension that was held within his body.

Treatment Results & Owner Comments

Ronnie regained a significant amount of mobility and flexibility, his postural alignment is greatly improved and he no longer holds himself in a protective manner, his movement is fluid and his muscle tone has improved greatly,

Ronnie’s owners have commented ‘Ronnie now wants to play and run around with his friends, to the extent that we sometimes have to rein him in and has his zest for life back… Oh and he is once again “kitchen side surfing” which we haven’t seen in ages. To see Ronnie’s improvement within just a few Canine Massage sessions was incredible and we now continue with maintenance sessions.