Anyone Help With Chester

[Rottifan]

Doggy chiro or bowen would be my first port of call especially if he has shown signs prior to soreness,vet will either give more pain meds or want to x ray .

My old boy gets stiff necks due to his arthritis.

We do warm packs on the sore area & above & it does give relief but we do bowen for any muscle soreness

DEFINITELY see an animal chiropractor. Do some research on the internet to find one you're comfortable with, one that has proof of success with client testimonials or videos of treatments etc. Xrays wont show nerves so will not correctly define this as the problem. Pain killers only mask up the problem and doesnt address the cause of it so wont go away on its own - rest will see inflamation subside so obvious symptoms will disappear but usually more subtle symptoms that the untrained eye cant see still stay (eg dog taking slightly smaller steps or holding head slightly lower) which means when something triggers off the obvious symptoms again in a couple of years the dog will have severe muscle wastage occuring from walking differently all of that time to avoid pain and it will take more treatments to keep him/her in alignment until the muscle builds back up to hold his/her own bones in place...if that makes sense. Nothing to lose by having Chester adjusted regardless of other issues. From my experience I have learnt that most dogs are out of alignment - mum stepping on them in the litter, being dropped, slipping on tiles/wooden floors, using stairs, rough play with other dogs, running the fenceline, running into something (glass door/coffee table) - wont hurt. Best of luck and keep us up to date! Always a worrying time....

[trifecta]

Personally I would go with a Bowen therapist if you can find one near to you.

Learn about Bowen here

[Erny]

When my girl gets trigger points, I find that anti inflammatories have no effect, as it is not a joint issue. I take her to a vet who does the trigger point therapy and acupuncture, or she sees a physio who is brilliant

What does the trigger point therapy involve?

[The Spotted Devil]

CM - I hope Chester is ok. I can recommend a good chiro or bowen or t-touch practitioners if you need them. Hugs and Ziggy licks xxx

[Clicking Mad]

thanks again for all your advice

the x-rays didn't reveal anything so it's rest for a week with pain killers

will let you know how he goes from there

[Kirislin]

Penny had a sore neck recently and the vet couldn't figure out what it was. Vets aren't good with injuries like these. I would suggest you go to see George Schofield in Craigieburn. My friends had a whippet with an ongoing injury, no one could work our where he was sore, he just kept limping intermittently. Vets xrayed shoulders and legs and could find nothing. They took him to George and he spotted it straight away. A dislocated toe. It would pop out and in so no one noticed it. Georges phone number is 9333 1602

[Rottifan]

Penny had a sore neck recently and the vet couldn't figure out what it was. Vets aren't good with injuries like these. I would suggest you go to see George Schofield in Craigieburn. My friends had a whippet with an ongoing injury, no one could work our where he was sore, he just kept limping intermittently. Vets xrayed shoulders and legs and could find nothing. They took him to George and he spotted it straight away. A dislocated toe. It would pop out and in so no one noticed it. Georges phone number is 9333 1602

OMG is George Schofield still treating animals

YES YES YES please please take your dog to see George ASAP!!!!

My bet is your dog is out of alignment and George Schofield will sort that problem out for you and your dog will instantly improve. I see an animal chiro in Queensland who raves about George. XRAYS dont show nerves so will not correctly define this as the problem. Rest will not help as the cause of the problem is not being addressed, if the cause of the problem is not addressed then it will not fix itself. Symptoms may periodically ease/disappear after rest due to inflamation reducing however the more likely scenario is your dog will make subtle changes to the way he moves. You may not notice the changes he makes (eg taking slightly shorter steps when he walks). He will change the way he walks to avoid it hurting him. Animals only change the way they walk because it hurts too much to do so normally. It might be years down the track until a big playtime/winter/a slip or fall triggers off the obvious symptoms again but it will take more treatments to keep him in alignment and fix him down the track because after years of his change in movement to avoid pain he will most likely have muscle wastage (from taking shorter steps etc) and may also start to find it hard to keep weight off due to his muscles/movement not being full stretch and therefore it will take more treatments to keep him in alignment and pain free so he walks full stretch again and the muscle builds back up again to hold his own bones in place.

Nothing to lose, so so much to gain. I learnt when my boy was completely paralysed/immobile. All dogs have pinched nerves, alot of the time from puppy (eg mum stepping on them in the litter, rough play, being dropped, falling/jumping wrong, slipping on stairs and slippery floors etc) but because their pain tolerance is so high and they are pack animals (if they show weakness that pack will take them out so they wont show symptoms until pain really bad), we dont notice and dogs will live with it their whole life.

Best of luck

[CavsRcute]

When my girl gets trigger points, I find that anti inflammatories have no effect, as it is not a joint issue. I take her to a vet who does the trigger point therapy and acupuncture, or she sees a physio who is brilliant

What does the trigger point therapy involve?

The vet feels over all her mucsles etc and is able to feel the knots.

He then uses a human TENS machine to "dissolve" the knots and all is good

The trigger points can very painful and they sometimes have to put them under to work on them

My girl has HD and because she waddles she always gets them in her front legs

[Erny]

That's interesting, CavsRcute. One of the Vet's I've seen with my boy has made mention a couple of times of the fact that he (the dog, lol) has a "trigger point" but on both occasions I've forgotten to ask the significance of that (as we've had so much else to concentrate on at the time).

Who is the person you see for the TENS Machine work? (ie Which Vet?)

[Pheebs]

Poor sweet Chester

Hope he's resting up OK and showing improvement

[CavsRcute]

That's interesting, CavsRcute. One of the Vet's I've seen with my boy has made mention a couple of times of the fact that he (the dog, lol) has a "trigger point" but on both occasions I've forgotten to ask the significance of that (as we've had so much else to concentrate on at the time).

Who is the person you see for the TENS Machine work? (ie Which Vet?)

Hi Erny,

The vet is Mark Hocking at Gladesville Vet Hospital, in Sydney...so this may not be much help to you

[Erny]

The vet is Mark Hocking at Gladesville Vet Hospital, in Sydney...so this may not be much help to you

No - a bit far .... but it's a thought and a lead .

Thanks.

[Clyde]

That's interesting, CavsRcute. One of the Vet's I've seen with my boy has made mention a couple of times of the fact that he (the dog, lol) has a "trigger point" but on both occasions I've forgotten to ask the significance of that (as we've had so much else to concentrate on at the time).

Who is the person you see for the TENS Machine work? (ie Which Vet?)

Hi Erny,

The vet is Mark Hocking at Gladesville Vet Hospital, in Sydney...so this may not be much help to you

I've used him too for Trigger Point Therapy - terrific

[Erny]

I've used him too for Trigger Point Therapy - terrific

Do you need to have your dog put under for this? That would be what would put me off ....

[hilaryo]

I second a chiroprator. If you can't get into the ones suggested, here is a link:

http://www.avca.com.au/search_results.php?...&search=VIC

Hope Chester is on the mend!

[Clyde]

I've used him too for Trigger Point Therapy - terrific

Do you need to have your dog put under for this? That would be what would put me off ....

No, I never have and I've taken a few dogs.

eta: If the dog is badly knotted up it does hurt a bit at the start but they soon relax once the vet works the points. I think it's fantastic.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Clyde

[Clicking Mad]

thanks again everyone!

Chester is definitely feeling a lot better now with just the rest ... though he's still got a noticeable limp ... will be going to see George on Wednesday

[tlc]

Glad Chester is feeling better. Definatley might be worth checking toes, Cooper had a dislocated toe and it was picked up by the vet and confirmed by X-ray.