In order to be able to move the body, muscles, tendons and ligaments all must work together at the same time. However, life events such as;
an injury, direct trauma, overuse/overstretch, repeat strain injury (RSI), incorrect preparation/procedure before & after sporting events, structural imbalances, poor diet /lack of appropriate nutrients, poor training, constant pulling into the training devices such as a lead or harness, slippery floors, constant jumping in and out of cars or on and off couch/bed and constant leaping up and down stairs, veranda and leaping for ball, frisbee or stick... etc. etc.
all can easily damage these soft tissues.
Many of us know that there is a relationship between flexibility and injuries and we always see athletes stretching before and after their sporting event in the human world.
Tendons stretch up to around 10% and the majority of ligaments have only a 3-5% stretch capability (Rogers, S 2000)
This means that muscles play an essential role for their body to be flexible and to protect it from injury so they can walk, run, play and do all the things they love to do.
One of the most common injuries dogs experience is RSI (repeat strain injury), which is caused by repetitive movement and overuse. In the human world, for example, it is the ‘golfer's and tennis wrist/elbow’ that is experienced by players of these sports as a result of specific repetitive movements of their wrist/elbow.
For dogs, sadly, it is commonly overlooked or just misunderstood by many owners as they may believe that dogs do not feel pain as humans do. However, this is not true. Dogs just do not complain and are too busy pleasing their owners.
Meanwhile, these injuries gradually build up damage to their muscles every time they slip on the floor, jump in and out of cars, jump onto and off your bed and couch, leaping up and down stairs/veranda and leaping for a ball, a frisbee or a stick. Small tears in fibres and connective tissue of the muscles occur and the local area becomes inflamed for a short time as the body attempts to repair the damage. Scar tissue is formed over the torn muscle or tendon tissue and the area becomes thick and feels painful. Further activity will only cause further damage and more inflammation, thickening, muscle tear/scars and pain. Often, it falls into a vicious cycle of injury and re-injury. If they always get over-excited or aroused at an off-lead park zooming around for a half an hour, and then go home without any cooling down of muscles, they are also risking an injury.
Untreated RSI could easily result in joint problems, which will most likely lead to further conditions such as early onset of arthritis and joint replacement. Depending on what stage of injury the dog has, they may be put on some controlled passive exercise while recovering from it and to stop the cycle of injury.
The key is to get the damage repaired while it is still in its early stages.
You may contact us to help these muscles recover before they get caught in a vicious cycle and your dog becomes seriously debilitated leading to expensive veterinarian bills.
Reference:
Rogers, S. 2000. The National College of Traditional Medicine ©Canine Myofunctional Therapy, course notes, Introduction to Muscle Physiology – Muscles, Fascia Tendons & Ligaments
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