‘ICEBERG’ INJURIES
Living on and near the coast is really great especially as an alternative place to walk with dogs.
However walking on or near the beach can most certainly have many dangers for dogs, we often
hear about dogs that appeared to have jumped or fallen off the side of a cliff. Happily, sometimes
these dogs survive and more often than not their survival is due to the brave rescue of our
emergency services. There are times when these dogs appear to have got away without any serious
injury, without any serious fractures or other obvious damage which initially appears to be amazing;
however, this is what I call an ‘iceberg’ injury, so little is evident but what lies below is potentially
massive.
The soft tissue injury from an accident like this is off the scale, I have treated a few dogs that have
suffered falls of this magnitude and when I see them a few months on from the incident the
muscular injury is general and affects their whole body and therefore their whole wellbeing. This is
from the impact of the fall, as the body has to absorb this kind of injury and if it has managed to stay
intact skeletally, the muscles and supporting soft tissue will take on the stress and load. It is
Newton’s law ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’.
When muscles are damaged, especially to these extremes, the effects are not always immediately
obvious. However, if they are left to recover through rest and reduced exercise, they will eventually
repair but in a configuration that will ultimately leave the dog with long lasting problems. Muscle
fibres consist of sliding fibres that require their integrity to maintain in their ‘sliding’ formation, if
this is damaged they repair in a shortened format and therefore with much reduced function; this
will then create huge general stress over the dog’s joints. Damaged muscles need realigning to aid
repair just as bones do; sadly muscle damage does not show up on Xray.
These type of injuries are not just confined to dogs that suffer massive falls but the same happens to
dogs who are involved in road traffic collisions or other such trauma. Muscle injuries are insidious,
their effects take on chronic changes that are continuous and unless arrested by giving the muscles
an environment to repair or restore through appropriate therapy the destructive changes will
continue.
Myotherapy is the specialised treatment that manages these and other situations like these.
Myotherapy can change dog’s lives dramatically but because muscle damage is conventionally
difficult to diagnose, it is more often than not overlooked. Just consider how pain impacts on you,
and how ‘small’ your world becomes when you are in pain. Often pain is misunderstood as a
behavioural problem!
Galen Therapy Centre is launching a new charity called ‘Galen Therapy Centre Foundation for Canine
Studies’ this year. We are planning to perform empirical and scientific studies to demonstrate how
these injuries and other chronic muscular conditions affect dogs and how the Myotherapy treatment
improves their quality of life. We have many different studies in mind that will add evidence to how
muscle pain and dysfunction have detrimental effects on dogs, not only with lameness but also their
wellbeing.
Many conditions that Myotherapy can help improve or manage do not seem to be typically
considered as a muscular issue. However just as the other body systems interact with each other, so
does the muscular system. If the muscular system is compromised and therefore not fully
functioning it can have a disproportionate effect on other systems, such as the digestive,
neurological, endocrine systems of the dog. This happens through disproportionate loadings
asserted through the dog’s body.
Myotherapy is not the same as physiotherapy, the application and where the therapy fits within the
dog’s health care team is different. Myotherapy concentrates on the loading and postural issues
that are caused as a result of a condition or injury, so the both can work simultaneously.
If you are interested in a career change and working with dogs then you may be interested in finding
out more about our Galen Myotherapy Diploma. This has also proved to be a very valuable CPD for
other canine professionals. You can find us on the Galen Therapy Centre website or if you are
coming to Crufts please come and see us on Hall 3 Stand 28a next to Eukanuba in the same hall as
the Kennel Club events.
If you would like further details on anything written please contact Julia Robertson at Galen
Therapy Centre on 08453751767 or email natalie@caninetherapy.co.uk. (Crufts logo
attached whichever one fits best)