DIRECT TRAUMA – Henry – 5 years old, Jack Russell Terrier

DIRECT TRAUMA

Henry – 5 years old, Jack Russell Terrier

History – Henry is a family pet and during his usual play with a tennis ball he jumped up and twisted through his body landing hard on his hind legs. At first he seemed OK but the following day he was in significant pain and unable to move freely. A trip to the vet confirmed that there were no fractures but he had severely strained his lower back and his muscles were in spasm. Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs were administered. These helped but he still had an unbalanced, stiff gait and wasn’t his usually bouncy self.

McTimoney treatment – With veterinary approval McTimoney therapist, Lucy Goodright initial assessment concluded that there was a large rotation and tilt in Henry’s pelvis to the right which was likely caused by the impact through the hindlimbs when Henry landed awkwardly when catching the ball. In compensation his lumbar spine were rotated to the right, upper thoracic vertebrae rotated left, lower cervicals to the left and upper cervicals to the right. Such misalignments along his spine caused the soft tissue structures to become tight and sore resulting in restricted movement and unhappy dog. McTimoney adjustments to the relevant areas of the spine and pelvis alongside soft tissue massage were used to treat Henry’s condition. Henry had a total of 3 McTimoney treatments over a period of 5 weeks which improved his skeletal alignment and restored him back to his normal self.