McTimoney Therapy

Why Your Dog May Need McTimoney Therapy

Dogs have extremely flexible spines, and while this allows them to run, jump and curl up tightly in their baskets, it also makes the spine susceptible to injury. As with horses, a canine injury can be the result of a one-off event or a longstanding compensation.

In addition to trauma (such as road traffic accidents, falling or fighting), problems can be caused by modern competitions (racing greyhounds, agility dogs), their work (police dogs, gun dogs) or their conformation (i.e. bassets, dachshunds etc). Even pet dogs can have skeletal misalignments, which can be caused by obesity, pulling on the lead, accidents, or overexertion, especially when playing with toys such as frisbees.

Symptoms that your dog may show include:

• Crying out when getting up
• Difficulty climbing stairs / jumping into cars
• Showing discomfort when stroked along their backs
• Reluctant to exercise / temperamental changes
• Abnormal gait
• Failure to resolve the problem using conventional methods

Most dogs benefit from a maintenance check-up every year, and also after an injury or a period of lameness. This is because gait alterations caused by lameness can place more strain on other parts of the canine structure. Bitches will also benefit from treatment after giving birth, as a difficult labour can affect the pelvis.