The Gift of Walking

Dezi is a nine-year-old terrier mix who looks a lot like a certain canine movie star…

But don’t let the resemblance fool you. Dezi is a super star in his own right and though he has never saved a “lady” he’s overcome some great adversities in his life.

Rescued from an animal shelter, Dezi lives with his human Dad, Michael and every morning can be seen in his neighborhood going for a morning stroll. Then later in the afternoon, another walk somewhere about town — Capital Hill, Bellevue, Columbia City, or the busy streets of downtown Seattle –generally sporting a handsome coat and well-tailored collar.

His daily jaunts are more like prancing than walking as Dezi has a light step and a certain spryness to his gait.

But this was not always been the case.

One day, while loading up in Michael’s car, Dezi jumped in and then collapsed — his back end going completely limp. Unable to stand or walk, his Dad rushed him to the emergency vet only to find out that Dezi had suffered a fibrocartilaginous embolism (FCE).

FCE’s often happen suddenly and to understand them, you need to understand some anatomy. First, the vertebral column is a very unique structure similar in some ways to the elbow and knee joints, but in one way distinctly different. “The vertebral column consists of numerous small bones called vertebrae that are linked together by special joints called intervertebral discs,” writes Dr. Wendy C. Brooks, DVM, DipABVP. “The discs are similar to the joints that connect arm or leg bones together in many ways. They allow flexibility between vertebrae so that one can arch or twist one’s back voluntarily just as one can flex and extend a knee or elbow.”

But the key difference is that while knee and elbow joints have a capsules that secrete lubricating fluid and the bones are capped with smooth cartilage to allow for frictionless gliding of the joint when it moves — bends or extends — the back  has discs, which are more like cushions in between the vertebrae. These cushions are kind of like donuts in that they are are filled with a jelly-like substance known as nucleus pulposus, which is the stuff that makes up the fibrocartilaginous embolism.

Dr. Brooks continues: “The vertebral column provides a bony protective case around the vulnerable spinal cord. The spinal cord is the cable of nerve connections that transmits messages to and from the brain and controls the reflexes of the body. The spinal cord is fed by a network of spinal arteries. In FCE, somehow the material from the nucleus pulposus enters the arterial system and is carried to the spinal cord where it causes a blood vessel obstruction: an embolism. This area of the spinal cord actually dies. The process is not painful but generally recovery is not likely.”

For Dezi, the process was only momentarily painful as he yelped slightly and then collapsed onto his side. For the next three days he could not stand or walk. Michael administered the steroids prescribed by the veterinarian to help reduce the swelling and while he did his best to get Dezi to stand with support and did range of motion exercises with him at home, he knew that Dezi needed something more if he was ever going to be his spry self again.

That’s when Michael called Wellsprings K9 and booked a series of appointments.

Taking your dog swimming when they can’t walk or stand very well might seem counter-intuitive. What will they be able to do in the pool that they can’t do on land? First, the pool offers weightlessness and unlike underwater treadmills where dogs must bear some weight in order to walk on the treadmill, a deep water pool allows the dog to move his or her limbs without putting undo stress on injured limbs or, in Dezi’s case, on the spine.

Next, under the supervision of a licensed massage and swim therapist, movement of injured limbs can be gently encouraged in an attempt to rewire the neural pathways that have been interrupted. For instance, Dezi’s veterinarian encouraged Michael to do daily range of motion exercises moving the limbs in the natural and full range of movement to help maintain muscle tone, but also to reduce stiffness and remind the brain how the limbs move. These range of motion exercises are part of our therapy in general, but specifically for dogs like Dezi who need that “reminding.”

In addition, focused massage can increase circulation, help remove toxins, reduce stiffness and tension, increase mobility, and improves muscle tone — among other things — and in Dezi’s case, allow him to move his legs in a way he was unable to on land.

During his first visit to Wellsprings K9, Dezi was slightly nervous at first — unaccustomed to water let alone swimming, he was hesitant to get in, but under the attentive and watchful care of the licensed massage therapist, he soon grew comfortable with the swimming and absolutely LOVED the massage. And most importantly, while swimming both back legs not only moved, they showed promising range of motion. Slowly at first, but over the course of the first hour in the pool and in the subsequent weekly sessions, Dezi grew stronger, more mobile, and regained 95% use of his hind limbs.

“It’s like he was never injured,” Michael reports. “Every morning he gets up to play with his toys and then we go on our long walk together. He looks exactly as he did before the accident and I know that Wellsprings K9 played a major role in his amazing recovery.”

While Dr. Brooks is accurate in her assessment that many cases of FCE do not regain full use of their limbs, Dezi is walking proof that prompt attention and knowledgeable veterinary care along with focused swim and massage therapy can overcome the odds.

 

Max Update

Project Max

Max, the rescue dog, is continuing to come to the pool for therapy. He’s making slow slow progress, but progress is the key. He swims two times a week and while he’d rather just lie in the therapist’s lap for a massage and stretch, he’s learning to really extend his legs and body to become quite a proficient swimmer (something he struggled with the first time in the pool).

And of course, he’s inspired us all with his gallant efforts and his wise and soulful eyes.

If you’d like to follow his journey check out Project Max.

If you don’t know Max’s story yet, you can read it below.

 

To Walk…Perchance to Run

Max is a two year old Great Pyrenees/Yellow Lab mix. He’s still a puppy, full of mischief and playfulness and the need to run and frolic with his canine friends.

Only Max can barely walk let alone frolic. Rescued from a high-kill shelter in Los Angeles by Suzanne (a wonderful woman who has committed her time, finances, and energy to rescuing dogs) Max arrived in Seattle unable to stand, walk, or bear his own gentle giant weight.

His history has been pieced together: He was more than likely kept in a kennel half of his size most of his life. Unable to stand up with only enough room to turn around and lie back down, Max’s body tells the story of his abuse. His muscles are underdeveloped and severely atrophied. From the pattern of his limited muscle development, he turned mostly to the left, laid (and still does) on his left side, used his weak muscles on his right side to pull himself up, and spent considerable amount of time squatting (his back legs have more muscle mass than the rest of his body).

Bodies learn to move — walk, run, sit, stand, lie down — through brain patterning. Every human athlete knows this. You want to be better at your golf swing, practice swinging a golf club over and over again…and not just randomly, but correctly so that your body makes a connection to your brain that the swing you want is this one, not that one.

Max’s patterns were limited. Standing from a sitting position was impossible. Walking forward rarely happened. Stretching was out of the question. Therefore his neural-pathways — those neurological connections that do everything from help us learn how to pick up a glass to more complicated tasks like running over hurdles or typing on a keyboard — were limited to those movements he could do on a daily basis — squatting, turning, lying down.

Suzanne worked with Max for six weeks teaching him to stand, helping him move forward, and building those neural-pathways one network at a time. But he wasn’t making the kind of progress she expected so she called Wellsprings K9 to see if we could help.

Rescuing dogs is an act of love and unfortunately doesn’t come with much money-making potential. We agreed to work with Max using money from the Wellsprings K9 Fund because Max was exactly the kind of dog who would benefit greatly from swim and massage therapy.

He was nervous about the water at first (imagine all the experiences he’s now having outside of his previous kenneled life and you can see how amazingly odd a big pool of water might be), but he is one loving and trusting fella. From the moment he got into the pool, his legs started moving — not in the coordinated way of most swim strokes, but they were moving and the more Max acclimated to the pool, the more coordinated he became.

Max craves human attention and so the massage portion of his session was a piece of cake. He smiled. He sighed. He leaned into the massage therapist’s hands as if to say, “Yes, right there…massage me right there! That feels great!”

Swim and massage sessions continue. Max is learning to re-pattern — moving to the right and not just the left, walking forward and backward, trusting his body and growing more and more aware of where his body is in space. He’s walking better (thanks also to Suzanne’s commitment to massage and exercises at home) and slowly that hunch in his back is leveling out.

Still, Max wants to run one day — as every puppy should — and to help him continue to progress it would be great to get him into the pool as much and as often as we can.

You can help Max in one of two ways: Suzanne has her own Chip-in account for her rescue organization Seattle Sobaka and funds from this account will not only help Max, but will help other rescues as well.

Or you can donate to this Wellsprings K9 Fund and not only will we be able to help Max in his therapy, we’ll also be able to help other dogs like Max who dream to walk, perchance to run.

As always, thank you for your generosity. Check back soon and watch his progress in the weeks to come.

Swim Caps and Broken Toes

This is Woobie — a Bearded Collie/Tibetan Terrier Rescue

She’s a very active girl. She loves to go hiking, she loves to play in the snow, roll around on the beach, and yes, she’s even been known to hang out with me (and my buddy, Rubin) from time to time.

As you can see, she’s lived a very full and enriched life and I’m glad to call her my friend. So when Woobie fractured her toe, I was sad to hear the news and I worried that Woobie’s active life would be painfully curtailed. You may not know this, but when we can’t go on our daily adventures like we normally do, we can get depressed. I feared Woobie might be feeling depressed and a bit bored in her recovery.

That’s when I suggested to her owners that perhaps Woobie would benefit from some swimming and massage. They were all for it and Woobie, who loves swimming, was thrilled!

Woobie’s coat, as you can tell, is long and silky. To help her relax in the pool, she donned our version of a swim cap and walked right into the pool.

“Awwwww,” I heard her sigh, “This is wonderful! Exactly what I need!”

Swimming at Wellsprings K9 is not only a great way to provide non-weight-bearing exercise for dogs who are recovering from injury and/or surgery, but the warm water is an excellent way to help relieve stress and tension from muscles that are over-compensating for the injury.

In Woobie’s case, she must wear a brace on her injured front leg to allow the bones to set properly and give the broken toe time to heal and repair. In addition to the brace, she receives physical therapy and ultrasound treatments at her vet’s office as well as doing daily exercise to help with range of motion.Unfortunately though, her long walks with her family and morning runs by the lake are on hold until the toe heals. As you can imagine, this bums Woobie out.

“I feel as if my life has been put on hold,” Woobie told me. “I’m becoming a couch potato and that’s just not me!”

Swim and massage therapy complement Woobies work with the vet and physical therapist as it provides Woobie with great cardiovascular exercise (she LOVES swimming, I might add), warms up those stiff and sore muscles increasing her range of motion, and relieves tension in the compensatory muscles that are working over time. Furthermore, it helps rebuild atrophied muscles that are, unfortunately, not being used during her recovery.

And most importantly, she can relax and enjoy not only the warm water swimming, but also the therapeutic massage and stretching provided by our licensed massage therapists (in this case, my Mom!) — all a great way to lift her spirits, aid in her healing process, and make her see the light at the end of this long recovery tunnel.

If your dog needs exercise, relief, or recovery from an injury or surgery…or even if you know your dog is feeling a bit down because the weather or human commitments have made it difficult for you to provide them with consistent daily adventures… consider swimming her/him at Wellsprings K9 this winter. Or as Woobie would say, “It’s the life! Every dog should have a chance to swim and get massaged at Wellsprings K9!”

Have a great weekend,

Paige the Doberman

Ouch! The Pain of an Injured Cranial Cruciate Ligament

Written by Paige the Wellsprings K9 Doberman

At Wellsprings K9 one of the most common injuries (and post-surgeries) we see is to a dog’s knee. Cranial Cruciate Ligament (or CCL) injuries are the most frequent orthopedic injuries in dogs

and while some dogs may have a greater risk of tearing the ligament (due to size, weight, genetics, or activities), damage to the CCL is kind of an equal opportunity injury. In other words, we’ve worked with dogs as small as a Pomeranian and as large a Wolfhound with torn or ruptured CCL.

Knees (whether canine or human) are internally stabilized by two ligaments that cross and form a X. In humans, the ligaments are called Anterior Cruciate Ligaments (ACL) and if you watch any human sporting events, you know that ACL tears are also extremely common.

In dogs, the knee is known as the stifle and the ligaments are called CCL. When it tears, the same results happen for canines and humans – OUCH! – A painful and unstable knee/stifle.

Dogs who come to our pool more than likely come because they are either trying to avoid surgery for a CCL injury or recovering from CCL surgery. It’s so common in fact I thought it would be a good idea to explain a bit more about such injuries in my blog.

Acute vs. Chronic

Some CCL injuries happen quickly, while others develop over time. Acute injuries, for example, develop because of sudden trauma – like jumping up to catch a ball or stepping in a hole – an action that causes hyperextension or improper rotation of the knee.

Chronic injuries, on the other hand, are associated with disease, degenerative issues, obesity, and a dog’s conformation (how a dog’s legs are positioned to the rest of his/her body). Over time, the CCL weakens or wears down from overuse, misalignment or gradual deterioration as the dog ages or the disease progresses.

As I’ve stated above, it doesn’t matter the breed, age, size, or genetic predisposition of your dog – ANY DOG CAN INJURE THEIR KNEE. True, certain breeds are at a higher risk for CCL injuries (Newfoundlands, Labradors, and Rottweilers to name a few) and overweight dogs increase their chances of knee damage as well, but if your dog is active, they can injure their knee – playing fetch, participating in agility competitions, herding sheep, or romping in the snow.

Which means that preventing such an injury is a top priority, but how?

Weight management is important. Keep your dog trim. A heavy dog puts more strain on the knee and even five extra pounds can put unneeded pressure in the wrong place.

Next, don’t overwork your dog especially a young dog. Your dog isn’t finished developing (depending on your breed of dog) until they are approximately 12 to18 months old. Therefore, if you ask your dog to go with you on your five-mile run or participate in an athletic activity like herding or agility before her/his bones and joints have fully matured and developed, you’ve increased the risk of knee injury (among other conditions) in your dog. Think of it this way, would you ask your 5 year old child to run 10 miles or hike up a 4,000 foot mountain? Hopefully not, so you shouldn’t ask your dog (no matter

how willing s/he may seem) to do the same.

If your dog is older or suffers from degenerative conditions you can do things to help reduce the stress on the knee like provide ramps so your dog doesn’t jump up or down from the car or the couch or your bed, and limit (if not cease) games that increase your dog’s vulnerability like fetch or any activity that requires sudden twists, turns, or jumping.

Of course, one of the best activities for all dogs – old, young, active or sedentary – is swimming and swimming in a warm water environment is ideal since it warms up the muscles and provides great non-weight bearing, low-impact, and cardiovascular exercise. But I’ll come back to this topic in a moment.

“I think my dog may have hurt his knee,” you say, “How do I know for sure?”

The Cranial Cruciate Ligament is kind of like a rubber band that helps keep the femur bone from pressing into the tibia bone – it “stretches” them apart. When it tears or ruptures, those two bones come in contact and the sliding nature of the stifle is lost making for a very painful joint.

Whether acute or chronic, dogs will vary in the severity of their symptoms. For instance, a completely torn CCL might show as a slight limp in one dog while cause another dog to not bear any weight on the effected leg at all. Still, there are some signs to watch for:

• Decreased or limited range of motion and/or mobility
• Crepitus in the stifle join – a crunching noise of bones rubbing together
• The effected limb extending out when the dog sits
• Signs of pain when the knee is touched
• Stiffness, limping or unwillingness to use the leg during or after exercise
• The knee feels warm or hot and/or swollen to the touch
• Thick, tight, hard, and/or firm feel to the knee
• Unbalanced stance – bearing weight only on the tip of the toe or shifting the weight to the good leg

And of course, if you suspect that your dog has injured his/her knee, see your vet for a full assessment to make certain.

There are many surgical and non-surgical options available to help a dog with a CCL injury. We encourage you to do your research on all the options available to figure out what’s best for your dog and his/her condition as well as talking with your vet.

Non-Surgical or Conservative Management includes:

• Rest, supplements, anti-inflammatories, homeopathy, herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, and weight control
• Physical therapy, acupuncture/acupressue, osteopathy, chiropractic treatments, and massage (and yes, swimming!)

Surgical Options (with links attached to each explaining the procedure):

• Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO)
• Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA)
•  Lateral Suture Stabilization which includes Tightrope or Traditional procedures
• Triple Tibial Osteotomy (TTO)

It’s important to remember that surgeries will vary in both their invasiveness and rehabilitation time. Thoroughly discuss all aspects of each surgery with your vet so you fully understand the extent of the impact on you and your dog.

Where does swimming and massage fit into all of this?

Warm water offers a perfect way to work the leg without putting undue stress on the stifle whether you choose a non-surgical or surgical option. In fact, if you choose a surgical option, swimming your dog pre-surgery is a great way to help maintain muscle tone and strength, and limit the amount of atrophy they will experience during recovery.

Massage and passive range of motion (PROM) stretches help relieve the compensation stress felt in the rest of the body especially the “good” leg, which is now bearing more-than-normal weight. Research suggests that dogs who suffer a CCL injury on one leg are 50-70% more likely to suffer a similarly injury within 18 months to the other, healthy leg. Massage and swim therapy can help relieve this stress and tension and hopefully prevent a similar injury occurring in the other leg.

Exercise without impact is another benefit of warm water therapy.  If you choose a non-surgical route for your dog’s knee injury, land exercise will be curtailed. Swimming is a great way to maintain cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength as well as burn off energy especially in younger dogs.

Swim and massage therapy can also:

• Maintain an optimum body weight
• Support reeducation (or use) of the effected limb
  

  Buddy's swim and massage sessions at Wellsprings K9 help him enjoy his beloved beach adventures!

• Reduce swelling and inflammation
• Provide relief for developing arthritis
• Relieve muscle tension
• Increase mobility
• Offer pre-surgery support and post-operative recovery
• Oh and most importantly, provide a fun and safe way to exercise!

We sure hope your dog never suffers from an injury to his/her knee, but if they do our licensed swim and massage therapists are here to help. Give us a call (206-935-8299) or email us (info@wellspringsk9.com) to set up an assessment and appointment.

Here are some links that you might find helpful:

http://www.ehow.com/way_5185297_dog-acl-rehabilitation-exercises.html#ixzz1cxHFowLx

http://dogkneeinjury.com/cruciate-ligament-injury-in-dogs/

http://www.pethealth101.com/Working_dogs/WorkingKnee.shtml

http://dogkneeinjury.com/category/owner-experiences/dog-knee-alternative-treatment/

http://dogkneeinjury.com/category/video/

 

 

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