Animal Spinal Therapy

Treatment involves an assessment of the whole animal; including a full case history wherever possible, movement and gait analysis and physical examination; although manipulation concentrates mainly on the spinal column and the pelvis.

So what's wrong?

You may have noticed that your dog or horse doesn't seem themselves. you may not be able to put your finger on it, but there's something not quite right.  You may have noticed that he is unlevel, perhaps mildly lame, or more on the forehand. Maybe he's stopped jumping or approaches the jump differently, rushes, jumps flat, bucks on landing. He might have become stiffer on one rein, is more difficult to bend one way to the other, or can no longer walk in a straight line. He might have started to behave in an uncharacteristic way - jogging, biting, rearing, unhappy.  Whatever the cause, he's different.

This is where I come in.  Therapists such as myself are trained to identify and manage problems where there may be no pathology (e.g. swollen fetlock, infection), just abnormal physiology (e.g.muscle stiffness, joint ligament pain).  In other words your horse's musculo-skeletal system is under strain and is behaving abnormally, but hasn't reached the point where it "breaks down" in some way.  Many of these "repetitive strain" type injuries will end up causing symptoms of back stiffness or pain.

Treatment

Having taken a full case history for the animal, I will then visually assess him, not only his movement but also his general behaviour and stance.  I will then palpate him and make adjustments where necessary. Most animals are very happy to be treatment, few object in my expereince and most become so relaxed that they almost go to sleep!

Adjustment may be accompanied by massage and/or stretching where appropriate.  Most animals will need 1 to 2 days to recover before being brought back into full work gradually over a few days.  The number of treatments required will depend on the severity of the initial problem, how long it has been there for and the individual's occupation!

Competitive animals will generally be seen more frequently than pets, as their bodies are put under greater strain, although both are prone to injury.

Advice and possibly further stretching exercises will be given on the merits of each case.