The cause of common lameness problems, ageing or slowing down overnight, gait irregularities…the list goes on, but why is the most common cause constantly overlooked, over thought or simply masked? Natalie Lenton asks…

Firstly thank you all so much for the lovely emails and for those of you who came down to the stand at Crufts to have your dogs muscles checked over by a member of the Canine Massage Guild! We had an over whelming response to my interview in the studio with Clare Balding where I discussed muscle injuries, how to spot them and the recommended therapy to help them along with answering some viewer emails. As always  it’s amazing to see viewer response to the escalating interest in Canine Massage Therapy!

So to elaborate a bit more on my interview here is a rundown of some very common muscular injuries and issues which result in lameness, gait irregularities, behavioural issues, and posture changes and to explain a bit more about the Physiology of Injury or in plain terms what an injury or muscle problem really means, how it happens and the consequences it has on your dog. Prepare for some ‘light bulb’ moments!

For this article we are going to assume that any Orthopaedic or Neurological problems have been diagnosed by the vet as very often a muscular problem may stem from or sit alongside these. However many common muscle problems result because of activity, injury, overcompensation due to an Orthopaedic issue and many are related to day to day activities that cause or add to these issues.

Muscle is the steak on your plate or the chicken in your Sunday roast; meat is muscle and it makes up a massive 45%-55% of your dogs bodyweight!

We talk about the body in terms of joints; the shoulder, the hip, the elbow, the wrist. But what often goes over looked is the fact its the muscles which pull on the bones to produce movement. Think of the body as a system of pulleys and levers; the bones are the levers and the muscles which pull on the to bones effect movement are the pulleys. The pulleys should be smooth, the right length, they should glide and they should work independently yet together at the same time; think of a finely tuned machine. When muscle (which incidentally people seem to forget is the steak on your plate or the chicken in your Sunday roast; meat and flesh is muscle), gets torn, shortened, adhered or compromised  in any way it can no longer reach its full potential to make the body move without a problem.

The dog has around 320 bones (length of tail depending) and approximately 700 muscles which account for 45% to 50% of their bodyweight! Muscle is under voluntary control but accidents caused through playing, general wear and tear and injury (see list below for common causes) cause ALOT of mobility problems in dogs that see owners continually frustrated that their dog never seems to be ‘sound’ or has re occurring, niggly or intermittent issues that affect the dogs true movement and gait and quite often gets in the way of them having a good time too!

What goes massively overlooked as a cause of gait irregularities are soft tissue issues and injuries. Never one to generalise in my area of speciality, the muscular system, I wanted to take a rundown of soft tissue injury which can so often be supported if not resolved with the use Therapeutic Canine Massage (see www.K9-MassageGuild.com)  a remedial treatment which helps to restore the dogs natural usage of muscles which can effectively resolve or significantly support issues.

Overcompensation & Weight Shifting

Of course the dog should move asymmetrically  (for example on the trot, the front right strikes the ground with the back left or vice versa), but quite often a pulled or torn muscle can cause a dog to throw their weight to other areas, knocking them off balance and causing bad habits or ‘holding patterns’ which can be as a result of a muscle problem.

Now, the dog cant tell us that it hurts in a specific spot or indeed what they did that caused the ‘hurt’ in the first place so here some things to look out for in your dog.

How To Spot A Potential Soft Tissue or Muscle Problem:

• An irregular gait eg: pacing/lack of drive/throwing a leg/lack of reach
• Postural Issues eg: Roaching/Swayback/Shifting Leg on the Stand or Stack
• Lameness/Limping
• Unable to go up/down stairs or In/Out of car
• Slowing down or walks
• Old before their time
• Reluctant to go on walks
• Tires easily/lethargic
• Incorrect Neck/Tail carriage
• Quivering or twitching skin
• Reluctant to be handled or gone over by a judge
• Reluctant to be groomed in a certain area
• And on the flip side of the coin a dog that is always presenting a certain area to you eg: their hind quarters
• Unable to do stairs
• Stiffness
• Performance Issues eg: Agility; knocking poles, stutter stepping, tucking up over jumps

Yes, quite a list isn’t it? And here’s the deal; soft tissue injury such as Strains WILL NOT fully repair with NSAIDS or anti inflammatories. These drugs help to reduce initial inflammation and mask pain which can create a frustrating cycle for the owner; the dog with a high pain threshold is a dog that will consistently and repeatedly injure themselves so an injury that should take 6 weeks to heal ends up going on and on and on and on….This is why you see these problems intermittently or with some dogs consistently because the muscle keeps on re-tearing.

But Can’t An Irthopaedic Issue Cause These Problems Too?

Yes of course they can and it’s important to remember that the skeletal and muscular system work TOGETHER. Dogs with Arthritis or Hip Dysplasia will have the associated aches and pains with these condition; the dog will have the primary concern e.g.: Arthritis in the shoulder but you need to keep in mind the muscles making that joint move will come under even more undue stress causing Secondary Issues in the muscles. Just another reason dogs with orthopaedic issues respond very very well to massage.

They could in fact be prone to many of the other muscular conditions we are going to look at over the next couple of month columns. In short by taking care of the muscle it helps to take care of the bone; massage for the dogs muscles help to manage pain, improve restricted mobility and importantly improve the quality of life of the dog. All orthopaedic conditions need to be diagnosed by a vet so you should expect X Rays for your dog if a problem is suspected.

X Ray doesn’t show anything up? Myelograms or MRI Scans may be suggested. Still nothing? Then congratulations your dog may well have a chronic muscle issue which responds well to non invasive massage. Good news for you, even better news for your dog.

Why? Because Therapeutic Canine Massage (see www.K9MassageGuild.co.uk to find your local practitioner) actually helps to treat the cause of soft tissue problems rather than masking them. It involves Trigger Point Release, Scar Tissue Remodelling, Myofascial Release and other methods of soft tissue manipulation that actually help to change the way the body not only repairs itself but also helps the body to move to its full potential and reduces the risk of re-injury.

What Are The common Muscle Problems That May Be Causing Issue With Your Dog?

Strain: commonly referred to as a pull, this is when the muscle goes beyond its natural range and is torn. There there are 3 Grades of Strain; Grade I, Grade II and Grade III. From lowest to highest the Grade depends on the level of damage and the amount of fibres that are torn, Grade I being the lowest.

A Strained muscle will cause common lameness and reoccurring lameness issues and is DEBILITATING. To give you some idea I had a Grade 3 many years ago and it took me nearly a year to be able to walk again normally. There will always be a weakness there and I rely on my masseuses to keep me on track which they have done for years.

One minute the dog seems ok and the next they seem back to square one; this is called a strain-restrain cycle where they keep re-tearing the muscle. The dog has an injury and is lame. Recovers and is fine for a few weeks or months only for it to happen again. The dog slows down, ages overnight, is stiff, reluctant or slower on walks and so the cycle continues.

A Muscle Strain is debilitating; I had a Grade 3 Strain which took me nearly a year to be able to walk again normally so think how this can affect your dog

Strains result from the overstretching of fibres and can be caused by activities like slipping on laminated floor and jumping into 4 wheel drives, any repetitive activity will cause a re-injury so soft tissue manipulation through massage can help a muscle to gain back its elasticity and flexibility and so aid in re strengthening and reconditioning  the muscle to cut down on the risk of reinjury.

As the fibres tear there is bleeding into the tissue which results in inflammation. Then the repair process continues with the next phase; Scar Tissue.

Scar Tissue: No not the kind from surgery, this scar tissue results because of a STRAIN or a muscle tear (see previous section). When a muscle is torn the first thing that happens in bleeding into the tissue and inflammation as the body fight to ‘clean up’ the site of injury and promote healing.

Once a muscle has torn and the repair process begins the body initiates the muscles repair. Firstly by regenerating muscle fires, then by forming scar tissue and thirdly through the maturation of scar tissue which is very fibrous.  This helps to essentially ‘glue’ the muscle back together and hardens over time as a fibrous hard compact ball or ‘slug’ of tissue which will restrict the muscle from working and makes the muscle weak.

But what you need to know as the owner is that scar tissue can reduce a muscles flexibility by a massive 50%, so you will see a short stride, stiff, old before their time, intermittent lameness, gait irregularities and posture changes. But with some dogs you may be unaware; it my experience many dogs have an overtly high pain threshold and most owners don’t know their dog has a muscular problem. All the more reason to get them checked over by a masseuse who knows what they are doing (www.K9-MassageGuild.com).

Natalie runs the successful Canine Massage Therapy Centre based in Worcestershire specialising in the treatment of soft tissue injuries of dogs with Canine Massage. She also lectures on the 2 year Therapeutic Canine Massage Diploma and runs 1 day workshops for owners. She also runs an online website specialising in Canine Natural Healthcare Products and is the President of the Canine Massage Guild. Occasionally she sleeps. See www.K9-Massage.co.uk and www.K9MassageGuild.co.uk for further details.