My partner tells me that when the fuel light in the car comes on, you still have many kilometres of driving before the car actually stops. He regularly tests his theory by driving for a day with the light on – so far he has never run out completely but it makes me really nervous travelling in the car with him.

Personally, I prefer to be more proactive approach to refuelling. When I see my fuel level is about a quarter of tank, I start looking for some cheap fuel to fill up. I don’t think I can remember a time when my fuel light came on and I am comfortable that I never run the risk of a running out of petrol. Plus my car is always ready to go – I don’t need to “quickly stop for fuel” on my way somewhere.

I look at health in a similar way. Rather than waiting for illness or injury, I prefer to be proactive. I try to eat well, exercise moderately and have some “body work” done if I have a muscle “niggle”. This way I limit the risk of a “breakdown” and I am always ready to go!

I take the same approach with the dogs’ health which is why I am so attracted to myofunctional therapy and nutrition for dogs. It is all about being proactive and maintaining the body’s health to minimise the risk of injury or illness.

So the idea of leaving a muscle strain or soft tissue injury untreated is like driving a car with the fuel light on. It is only a matter of time before that injury affects the dog’s biomechanical function and potentially leads to a serious injury such as a ligament rupture.

Why is it important to be proactive and treat a dog’s muscle injuries when they occur?

Manage dog’s pain

Regardless of the cause, relieving a dog’s pain is simply the humane thing to do. When a dog injures their muscles, tendons or ligaments, they are like us and feel pain.

Prompt treatment helps manage the dog’s pain in two ways:

1. It works on the dog’s nervous system to reduce the perception of pain.
2. Directly addresses the inflammation at the site of the muscle injury which is causing the pain.

Reducing the perception of pain

The mechanic pressure of massage helps manage pain. It is thought to stimulate the mechanoreceptors in the skin. These receptors send signals to the spinal cord which in turn inhibit the transmission of noxious stimuli to the dog’s brain thereby altering the dog’s perception of pain.

Numerous human studies on the effect of massage have reported a significant reduction in pain directly following a massage treatment and for up to three months post-treatment.

Addressing inflammation and muscle injury

After the acute injury phase has passed, a myofunctional treatment aids effective tissue healing. It can reduce swelling and the associated pain and tension that a build up of blood and lymph at the injury site puts on the skin and fascia. A treatment also aligns muscle fibres as they are healing to prevent muscle knots and eliminates excessive scar tissue forming. Excessive scar tissue can restrict muscle function in the long term which can be painful and cause muscle strain in compensatory muscles.

Avoid further muscle strain from overloading compensatory muscles

When dogs have sustained a strained a muscle, they typically adopt different postures and gaits to avoid causing further pain. Altering their posture and the way they move however can develop new pain points because they are loading other muscles abnormally.

In a study of Beagles where lameness was induced in a front leg, the forces exerted on the contralateral forelimb increased significantly. The forces exerted on the hindlimb diagonally opposite the affected front leg were also increased. The study found that increases in muscle recruitment is likely to result in muscle fatigue and hypertrophy, in the longer term. This increases the risk of muscle injury.

A myofunctional treatment will loosen and lengthen the fibres of compensatory muscles as well as lubricate the joints stressed by changes in gait.

Reduce the risk of re-injury

While dogs often appear OK after a day or two of rest, muscle injuries are invisible. An injury that has not healed properly will always be a point of weakness and likely cause the dog cause injury at a later stage. In the meantime, the dog will be compensating for the weakness and straining muscles and ligaments in other parts of their body which in turn increases the risk of injury.

Fill your dog’s tank before it hits empty

By being proactive with dogs’ muscular health, the risk of serious soft tissue injury like a ligament rupture or major muscle tear can be reduced. Regular maintenance myofunctional treatments which focus on relieving muscular issues like knots, spasms or trigger points, maintaining flexibility and co-ordination are just one way of filling up your dog’s fuel tank before the fuel light comes on.

Other ways of being proactive in maintaining good muscle health include:

• Providing appropriate daily exercise

• Feeding a balanced and nourishing diet

• Maintaining your dog at a healthy weight

• Watching your dog for changes in movement, weight, lay of their coat or behaviour – these are all signs of potential health issues

Full Stride provides hands on myofunctional treatments and nutritional therapy for dogs with soft tissue and mobility problems. My myofunctional treatments include massage, passive range of motion, and exercise therapy to rehabilitate dogs and keep them active. I also provide nutrition advice for feeding dogs a balanced, whole food diet to maintain a healthy weight and set them up for a long, healthy life. I would be pleased to chat with you about how I can help you be proactive with your dog’s health.

Please like Full Stride on Facebook for regular canine health updates.

Until next time, enjoy your dogs.

Sources:

Abdelhadi, J., Wefstaedt, P., Nolte, I., & Schilling, N. 2012. “Fore-aft ground force adaptations to induced forelimb lameness in walking and trotting dogs.” PloS one, 7(12), e52202.

Catanzaro A, Di Salvo A, della Rocca G 2014 Neuropharmacology of Animal Pain: A Mechanism-Based Therapeutic Approach. J Vet Sci Med Diagn 3:1

Falkensteiner, M., Mantovan, F., Müller, I., & Them, C. 2011. The Use of Massage Therapy for Reducing Pain, Anxiety, and Depression in Oncological Palliative Care Patients: A Narrative Review of the Literature. ISRN Nursing, 2011, 929868. http://doi.org/10.5402/2011/929868

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

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 & Levine, D (ed) 2014 Canine Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy, Elsevier Inc, Missouri USA

Perlman, A. I., Sabina, A., Williams, A. L., Njike, V. Y., & Katz, D. L. 2006. Massage therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(22), 2533-2538.

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

Robinson, N.G & Sheets, S, 2015 Canine medical massage: techniques and clinical applications. American Animal Hospital Press, Colorado USA.

Walach, H., Güthlin, C., & König, M. 2003. Efficacy of massage therapy in chronic pain: a pragmatic randomized trial. The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 9(6), 837-846.