Earlier this week I was asked to treat a regular client, a 10 year old, male Belgian Shepherd. The dog had woken up, hunched or roached in the back and very restless. He had toileted normally the night before and that morning, but was clearly not himself.

Findings from examination

When I observed the dog, there was a noticeable roach in his lumbar spine and his movement through the hindquarters was stiff and restricted. He showed limited hip extension.

On palpation, he was very tense in the neck and sensitive around his abdomen and the lumbar region generally. The adductor group of muscles on the inside of his hind legs were also very tight.

In humans, the relationship between the abdominal musculature, the lumbosacral muscles and the adductor muscles has been noted. Particularly, the role of the abdominal and lumbosacral muscles in hip motion. In humans, rehabilitation programmes are refocussing on conditioning and strengthening the postural muscles of the trunk, to support the hip joint.

Likewise, rehabilitation treatments in dogs with abdominal sensitivity should consider the relationship of abdominal muscles with muscles responsible for hip motion and muscles that stabilise the dog’s trunk in motion.

Treatment approach

I treated his neck and head to relieve tension and help him settle into the treatment. The tension in this area released almost immediately. I suspect it was due to weight shifting forward and also from being anxious from the discomfort in his abdominal area. This particular dog is a “worrier” and any stress can be felt in his masseter (large chewing muscle on side of face) and cervical vertebrae.

Once the dog was more relaxed, I very gently massaged the lumbar region (gluteals, sacrocaudal), the rib cage toward the shoulder (latissimus dorsi,) and the abdomen (abdominal obliques). This area was very sensitive to touch. I gently warmed the muscles before working to lengthen and release the muscle fibres.

After the abdomen, I worked the muscles on the inside of the dog’s hindlimbs – adductor muscles. The tension in these muscles had released somewhat from the work on the abdominal and back muscles.

At the conclusion of the treatment, I performed some gentle stretches to assist in relaxing the muscles supporting the hip joint. I also stretched the dog’s back and torso to aid relaxation.

Treatment results

As the dog was quite sensitive, I only treated him for about 25 minutes. Afterward, the dog appeared with less roaching and his movement in through his hindquarters was noticeably less restricted. He had a big drink of water and toileted immediately.
The owner called me in the afternoon following the treatment and said the dog had slept for most of the day and then went for his normal afternoon walk. He was moving normally again in the afternoon and there was no evidence of roaching or sensitivity in the abdomen.

Full Stride works with dog owners who want their dogs to be pain free and active. I offer remedial massage and physical therapy for dogs in their home or at my clinic on Brisbane’s northern suburbs. For more information on my treatments, please contact me.

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Until next time, enjoy your dogs.

Source:
Anderson, K, Strickland, S. M. and Warren, R. 2001 “Hip and groin injuries in athletes”, The American Journal of Sports Medicine Vol 29, No. 4