The Aussie - Summer 2020 final

Why is muscle pain so important to understand?
When the body suffers muscle pain the affected muscle
starts to shorten in length. This becomes apparent when
observing changes in a dog’s posture. The shortening is
due to the pain from the injured or inflamed muscles,
where the body is trying to avoid using these painful
regions where possible, further inhibi<ng it.
Why is muscle pain so important to understand?
Dogs tend to hide their pain, oben suffering in silence!
Look for subtle changes in your dog’s mobility and
behavioural paUerns. When your dog is excited, adrenalin
can temporarily mask whatever pain they have, so it is
important to look for changes in mobility and behaviour
when your dog is relaxed too.Have you no<ced any of
these signs that your dog may be uncomfortable…?
Is your dog:
Struggling to jump in and out of the car or on and off the
sofa?
Changing its gait?
Struggling to get up from lying down?
Not interac<ng as much with you on a day to day basis?
Showing discomfort when being touched anywhere on
his body?
Dislikes being groomed?
Showing behavioural changes around other dogs for no
known reason?
Licking his paws constantly?
In the same manner as us, dogs some<mes need a
helping hand to address exis<ng mobility issues as well as
preven<ng future degenera<on. Massage has been
around for thousands of years as a therapy that targets
muscles, effec<vely easing chronic muscular pain as well
as reducing inflamma<on, easing joints and promo<ng
mobility and flexibility.
Could your dog be suffering from a repeHtaHve strain?
Repe<<ve strain in human terms is oben thought of as
office work, siMng at a desk and how we work with our
computers. These are most certainly repe<<ve strains,
but more usually from a sta<c perspec<ve, which are
impacwul to the bodies posture. Dog’s suffer repe<<ve
strains, but more commonly from the kine<c perspec<ve,
or their ac<ons.
A body, both ours and dogs, are designed to work
mul<ple planes of movement, i.e. forwards, backwards,
sideways and in rota<on, but not con<nuously or
repe<<vely in any one. Also, not con<nuously at one
pace/gait or speed. Therefore, it is so important to give
our dogs a variety of ac<vity – and I use that word wisely
– not ‘exercise’! We are condi<oned to ‘exercise’ our
dogs, to take them for walks that oben involves running
and chasing objects. This appears to ‘exercise’ them, <re
them, so they will sleep when they return home. Most of
these ac<vi<es are causing repe<<ve strains and also
over exci<ng them crea<ng addi<onal psychological
problems.
Common ac<vi<es causing repe<<ve strains
• Slippery floors within their living environment
• Ball chasing (likewise s<ck/frisbee)
• Car jumping in and out
• Always told to ‘sit’
• Running with your dog
• Cycling with your dog
• Always walking on one side when on a lead
• Doing the same ac<vity or training
• Going up and down steps or stairs
• Jogging or running with a person or person on bike
All these done repe<<vely i.e. more than twice a week will cause
issues within your dog’s muscles. An over worked muscle will
naturally repair but by doing so will shorten in its total length,
therefore create a closing of healthy gaps between joints. This
change will go unno<ced for possibly many years, eventually
leading to secondary joint disease as well as other health issues.
Other musculo skeletal condiHons
There are other instances when Galen Myotherapy can be a
useful treatment.
• Post-opera<ve care
• Compensatory issues caused by condi<ons such as hip
and elbow dysplasia and arthri<s
• Lameness
• Cruciate ligament issues
• Assis<ng the older dog with mobility problems
• To help keep your working dog working, op<mising their
performance by maintaining their muscles.