Treatment | STABILITY STRENGTHENING

As a human physiotherapist, Pilates and Yoga instructor I have long been aware of the benefits of a holistic approach to treatment. For my human clients my approach is to use ‘hands on’ techniques such as massage, mobilisation, muscle energy techniques and acupuncture to maximise the quality of movement.

It is then vital to teach my clients to be body aware and re-educate their muscles with correct movement techniques. This is the important stage for prevention of recurrence of injuries and long term maintenance.
It has long been known in human literature that any pain, swelling or inflammation will switch off the stability muscles of the body. These muscles need to be retrained to support the joints or spine after an injury to ensure there is no recurrence.

The same occurs in dogs.

Therefore I use the same approach to treatment in a dog – only it requires some lateral thinking to re-educate those muscles and establish a home program for the owners. This may simply be advice about what activities to do, appropriate environment to walk your dog, or more specific agility, balance and stability exercises in the elite athlete. Often these are fun exercises that can be incorporated into your daily routine with your dog.