At the end of each year, I like to review my case notes for the past 12 months. Often common themes emerge which helps me plan for the coming year. A common “theme” in most case notes was a stress area that nearly all my canine patients exhibited. The stress area was the neck region from the head through to their withers (upper shoulder area). For some dogs, this area was very tender and sensitive to touch.

Why do the muscles in a dog’s neck become tense?

1. Weight bearing on the forelimbs

Unlike humans, a dog’s forelimbs are weight bearing: approximately 40% of the dogs’ weight is distributed and borne by the shoulder. Further, in dogs, the shoulder is supported by soft tissue only, not bone like the clavicle (collar bone) in humans. The forelimb muscles therefore work hard to stabilise and propel the dog when they walk, run, and play especially games like fetch and tug of war.

The neck can also be damaged from lead walking especially if the dog pulls on a collar or uses inappropriate equipment. (See blog on http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/can-dogs-pulling-on-lead-hurt-their-neck )

2. Dog has sore hips or back legs

When a dog is injured or has a weakness in their hindquarters (like muscle strain, arthritis, hip dysplasia, muscle atrophy or a myriad of other conditions) the dog will often compensate by shifting their weight forward and loading the forelimbs. To shift their weight, the dog will typically extend their neck when they move as a counter weight, thus straining the muscles in this area.

3. Dog has sore front legs

Dogs with a sore front leg or shoulder will shift their weight onto the opposite side and overload that shoulder and leg.

Several large and powerful skeletal muscles that are responsible for protracting and retracting the front legs when the dog moves, turning the dog’s head and stabilising the dog’s body when they are turning, attach to the cervical and “upper” thoracic vertebrae. As muscle strain frequently occurs in the tendon (due to its limited flexibility) overloading the shoulder and forelimb muscles will strain them. This strain occurs throughout the muscle but particularly the tendons that attach to the vertebrae in the neck region. Long term strain on these muscles stresses them resulting in sensitivity when touched and changes in the way the dog moves their front legs.

How do you know if a dog has a sore neck?

1. Feel

The muscles in the neck, from the base of the skull through to the withers, feel hard, knotted and poorly hydrated. In extreme cases, you may even feel warmth in the muscles indicating the dog’s body is responding to the muscle tension with an inflammatory response.

2. Sensitivity

The dog avoids you touching their neck or moves away from your hand. If the muscle is really sore, the dog may growl or snap at your hand.

3. Head tilt

The dog tilts their head in the direction of the sore neck muscle to prevent hurting themselves when they move. This may look cute, like the dog is thinking about something, but really they have a sore neck and don’t want to move too much.

4. Other signs of a dog with a sore neck

Some signs of a dog with a sore neck are specific to individual dogs or breeds. Some signs I have seen are a change in the set of the dog’s ears. This is especially relevant to dogs with erect ears like shepherd breeds, Corgis, Alaskan Malamutes and the like. In these breeds, the ear on the sore side of the dog’s head may be held flat or lower than the other ear.

Another sign of a sore neck is a squint or partially closed eye on the side of the sore neck muscle.

How to treat a dog with a sore neck?

1. Ice and heat treatment

If the dog’s sore neck is due to a recent injury (within 72 hours), then apply ice or a cool damp towel to the area.

For older injuries or chronic neck soreness, apply a heat pack (not too hot) or a warm towel.

Hot and cold treatments will stimulate the circulatory system to hydrate the affected muscles. Cold treatment will also act on the nervous system to relieve the dog’s pain.

2. Stretches

When your dog’s muscles are warm, like after exercise, try some neck and back stretches to relieve minor muscle soreness. Building a dog’s flexibility through the neck and back also prevents further injury.

See blogs on tricks to stretch your dog’s neck and back.
http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/5-reasons-to-teach-your-dog-to-twirl
http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/teach-a-dog-to-bow

3. Massage treatment

A certified canine massage therapist can relieve muscle tension in the neck and forelimbs. They can also identify and treat the primary cause of the abnormal loading on the forelimb.

Full Stride offers therapeutic massage treatment and physical therapy on the north side of Brisbane. I would love to chat with you about your dog’s sore neck and how we can relieve it, so please contact me at jlconlon@fullstride.com.au.

You can also stay up to date by following Full Stride on Facebook .

Until next time, enjoy your dogs.

Sources:

Fischer, M.S & Lilje, K. E, 2014 Dogs in motion, 2nd edition, VDH Service GmbH, Dortmund, Germany

Hourdebaight, Jean-Pierre (2004), Canine Massage: A complete reference manual 2nd edition, Dogwise Publishing, Wenatchee WA, USA