As humans we find solutions to problems in unusual and circuitous ways. For several months now, it has been clear that I need new glasses. To solve this “problem”, I have dusted off old glasses with different prescriptions, held books further away and taken my glasses off to read, and bought a very bright lamp so I can see my knitting. Today, I made an appointment at the optometrist.

While my other “solutions” gave me short to medium term relief, they weren’t really addressing the root cause of the problem. Sometimes we take similar routes when our dogs have a soft tissue injury. We treat the symptoms, adjust our routines, and buy different collars or harnesses, until we find a therapy that actually addresses the soft tissue.

What is Canine Myofunctional Therapy?

Canine myofunctional therapy is such as therapy. It encompasses canine massage, range of motion techniques, stretching, mobilisations, and exercise therapy. All of which promote proper muscle function for normal movement.

In particular, Canine Myofunctional Therapy (CMT) helps heal injured muscles by positively affecting range of motion (ROM) and muscle tone quality.

What is range of motion and why is it important?

ROM is the degree to which the dog is able to extend and flex their limbs. It is influenced by the dog’s conformation and the integrity of the soft tissues supporting the limbs. When a muscle is injured, the muscle fibres can tear or remain contracted so they are not able to facilitate the full range of joint motion.

Further, the dog’s body may initiate an inflammatory response to the injury which more often than not is accompanied by pain. When this occurs, we see our dog guarding the injury site to avoiding painful positions and exercising less.

CMT improves ROM in a number of ways:

• lengthening and separating the affected muscle fibres,

• promoting synovial fluid production and

• improving the lubrication of the joint.

This eases functional stress on the joint, influences the dog’s perception of pain and improves the ROM.

CMT is also thought to affect the central nervous system (CNS) to improve ROM. There are numerous sensory receptors associated with muscles including muscle spindles and Golgi apparatus. The role of muscle spindles is to protect the muscle from overstretching. They do this by detecting length and the velocity at which a muscle is being stretched. If overstretch appears imminent, the muscle spindle initiates motor neurons to contract the muscle. The Golgi apparatus nerve endings provide feedback to the brain as to the location of the muscle in relation to the rest of the body. This is referred to as proprioception.

These sensory nerves are susceptible to pressure such as that applied through sustained contraction caused by injury. When sensory nerves are impeded, impulses travelling along them to the CNS may be compromised which affects the way the dog moves their limbs. Passive joint movement techniques may stimulate the neural pathways around the muscle or joint and reset the way the body views the affected area and in so doing improve the dog’s ROM. (For more information refer to http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/passive-range-of-motion-exercises-for-dogs)

In a study of horses, massage was shown to positively influence ROM. The study measured the horses’ stride length and frequency before and after massage. Following treatment, the study found an increase in stride length and decrease in stride frequency which indicates the horses were able to cover more distance in each stride following massage. In this study, massage appears to have facilitated an increase in the extension and flexion of the horses’ joints to enable increased stride length.

What is muscle tone and how to improve it?

CMT improves ROM by affecting the quality of the muscle tissue. In the study of horses mentioned above, an increase in the diameter of muscle tissue in the muscle belly and tendon junction was observed following the application of several massage techniques. The study showed an average increase in muscle tissue of 14% following massage, as measured by ultrasound. This increase is attributed to changes in the fluid status of the muscle and the length and position of muscle fibres.

Another study, using rabbits, supports this finding by concluding that following the application of massage-like techniques the amount of damaged muscle fibres was reduced and the overall integrity of the muscle improved.

The quality of muscle tone can also be influenced by the central nervous system. Injured nerve endings impact the tone of the surrounding muscle fibres. The muscle may atrophy because motor nerve impulses from the CNS are unable to reach the affected body part to engage the muscle fibres. CMT affects the quality of muscle tissue to reduce muscle tension and ease the pressure on the sensory receptors in the muscle thus allowing impulses from the CNS to reach the body part. This may prevent the muscle losing tone and contractile strength. (See also http://www.fullstride.com.au/blog/muscle+atrophy+in+old+dogs )

How does Canine Myofunctional Therapy work?

Improvements in muscle tissue quality and range of movement may be attributed to the mechanical nature of CMT techniques. The pressure of massage strokes stretches and pulls muscles fibres in various directions and mobilises the connective tissue. This action separates and elongates muscle fibres and releases adhesions.

In the case of muscle tears, CMT plays two roles. Firstly, it assists healing through fibroblast function and recruitment. Fibroblasts are cells that are able to develop into connective tissues to facilitate healing. They are particularly responsive to mechanical stimuli, such as the techniques used in myofunctional therapy. Secondly, CMT assists in reducing the formation of scar tissue by disrupting the formation of collagen fibres and facilitating the muscle to remodel along the lines of normal stresses.

If your dog has a persistent soft tissue injury, I would love to have a chat with you about how a Canine Myofunctional Therapy treatment and programme may benefit them. Please contact me or message me via the Full Stride Facebook page.

Until next time, enjoy your dogs.

Resources:

Baum,J & Duffy, H.S. (2011) “Fibroblasts & myofibroblasts: What are we talking about?” Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology 57 (4): 376 – 379

Edge-Hughes, Laurie (2007) “Hip and sacroiliac disease: selected disorders and their management with physical therapy”, Clinical Techniques in Small Animal Practice 22 p 183 – 194

Evans, Howard and de Lahunta, Alexander (2013), Miller’s anatomy of the dog 4th edition, Elsevier Saunders, St Louis, Missouri, USA

Goats, G,C. (1994) “Massage-the scientific basis of an ancient art: Part 2. Physiological and therapeutic effects”, British Journal of Sports Medicine 28 (3) p153 – 156

Haas, C, Butterfield, T.A, Zhao, Y, Zhang, X, Jarjoura, D & Best, T.M (2012) “Dose-dependency of massage-like compressive loading on recovery of active muscle properties following eccentric exercise: rabbit study with clinical relevance” British Journal of Sports Medicine, Published online June 26 2012

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

MacFarlane, P.D, Tute, S.A & Alderson, B (2014) “Therapeutic options for the treatment of chronic pain in dogs”, Journal of Small Animal Practice (55) p127 – 134

Matthews, K, Kronen, P.W, Lascelles,D, Nolan, A, Robertson,S, Steagall, P, Wright, B & Yamashita, K (2014) “Guidelines for recognition, assessment and treatment of pain” Journal of Small Animal Practice, Vol, 55 p10 – 68

Millis, D.L, Levine, D & Taylor R.A (ed) (2004) Canine Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy, Elsevier Inc, Missouri USA

Robertson, Julia (2010), The complete dog massage manual, Veloce Publishing Limited, Dorset UK

Weerapong, P, Hume, P.A & Kolt, G.S (2005) “The Mechanisms of Massage and Effects on Performance, Muscle Recovery and Injury Prevention” Sports Medicine 2005: 35 (3) p 235-256

Wilson, J (2002) “The effects of sports massage on athletic performance and general function”, Massage Therapy Journal, Summer, p90-100