An Older Dog Enjoys Walking Again!
The black and tan dog walked with mincing steps into my office, her lower back rounded as if in pain. Princess, adopted as a puppy, looks like a cross between a Beagle and a German Shepherd. Janet told me how each morning for eleven years, she would awake to find Princess standing next to her bed, leash in mouth, begging for a walk.
But about a year ago, Princess started to tire on her walks, and they would return home early. Eventually, Princess stopped asking to go for walks, and even looked away if Janet suggested one. Now, Princess only went outside to relieve herself or to lie in the sun.
Janet mentioned that Princess’ back had begun to get a rounded appearance a few years ago. Since it was a gradual change and Princess didn’t appear to be in any pain at that time, Janet wrote it off as a harmless aspect of aging. I theorized that it was probably sometime before that that Princess had begun to lose some freedom of movement and the rounding of the back was a consequence of that loss.
Princess’ veterinarian diagnosed a spinal problem and prescribed a strong anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving medication. Janet disliked giving her dog such a strong pharmaceutical, but decided to try it to see if it would significantly improve Princess’ quality of life. While Princess walked a little easier when on the medicine, her lack of energy and unwillingness to go on walks remained.
Janet asked Princess to lie down on the comfortable mat in the center of my office. With my fingertips, I began to softly lift the muscles along her spine. My movements were very slow and light. As I lifted each small area of muscle, Princess’ breathing began to slow and I could feel her relaxing under my hands. Since the breath is a good indicator of pain or anxiety, I am always careful to note any changes in the animal’s breathing. Princess’ slower, more relaxed breathing was a good sign. I wanted to help Princess learn how to walk easier. And since learning cannot occur in a state of anxiety, it was important for me to keep Princess feeling safe.
In addition to helping her release tense muscles, the gentle lifting was also enhancing Princess’ awareness of her entire spine. Very often when we have pain, we tighten the muscles around the painful area to minimize movement and reduce discomfort. These parts then begin to be lost from our awareness. This leads to fragmentation of movement, with some body parts working harder than the “tuned out” parts. The hard-working parts may then sustain an overuse injury. It’s also very tiring to move in a fragmented way. The way Princess currently walked was that her legs did all the work and her back hardly moved at all. Consequently, Princess’ steps were small and mincing. My intent was to teach Princess to use her body efficiently, distributing movement more evenly throughout her body. Restoring Princess’ ability to both straighten and round her back at will would be a good place to start.
With Princess still lying on her side, I touched her sternum, the bone that runs down the center of the chest. Gently coaxing the sternum in the direction of the pelvis assists the rounding of the lower back. Since Princess could round her lower back easily, I supported this pattern, with my hands exaggerating the movement for her. Since this was a familiar and comfortable movement, she did not resist.
While keeping her lower back rounded had become a habit for Princess, it took muscular work for her to maintain it. Not only was it an energy drain, but maintaining any position indefinitely usually causes soreness. When my hands began to support this posture for her, it allowed her own muscles to relax. Princess breathed an audible sigh of relief.
I gently moved her ribcage in the direction of her pelvis, also to assist with rounding the spine. I gradually included her head too, bringing it ever so slightly downward. Again, Princess did not resist these movements, since they were in line with her habit.
I then brought her pelvis and hind legs a little further underneath her body as I slightly exaggerated the rounding of the spine. I was helping Princess relate the movement of her hind legs with the movement of her back. She could begin to feel that it was easy and pain-free to bring her hind legs forward when her back moved.
Gradually, I let go of the rounding of the back and I noticed that her habitual posture had changed. Princess’ back was now straighter. How did this happen?
Supporting the Pattern is an important SENSE MethodSM concept. It allows the animal to feel safe, since no one is attempting to contradict what she feels comfortable doing. The animal develops trust in the practitioner and can relax. Also, the muscular effort involved in holding this rounded posture gets a much needed break. Since I was doing the work for Princess, her brain got a message to let the habitually contracted muscles relax. So she was not so rounded anymore!
There are further benefits to Supporting the Pattern. When you exaggerate a movement pattern, the animal gains an awareness of the habitual, but unconscious, pattern. Once you have awareness, the nervous system can reorganize to improve upon this action pattern. It may decide that the pattern no longer fits its current state. But it needs the awareness of it first.
Another important benefit is that when we exaggerate the rounding of the back and then it returns to its usual posture, the nervous system gets to experience the act of straightening the back without force or pain. To understand this concept, sit somewhat slouched, then round your back even more. Now straighten your back a little bit to return to your former “somewhat slouched” state. Do you feel how this return movement is the beginning of straightening your back? This is a way to safely induce Princess to straighten her back on her own. The introduction of new movement patterns must be done with great care for the animal’s comfort. This is a clever and gentle way to do it. By keeping the movements pleasurable, Princess’ nervous system will be more likely to recreate them on her own.
Since doing the movements in different positions helps the nervous system remember them, I worked with Princess’ sternum and ribs to support her pattern while standing. Princess was walking with her back noticeably straighter and taking longer steps when she left my office. By using her body in this more effective way, Princess would be capable of greater stamina.
Janet called me the next day to happily report that Princess woke her up the next morning, leash in mouth! Janet was thrilled to be able to take Princess on a walk. Princess and I worked together a few more times to support her progress. In these sessions, Princess graduated to being able to extend her spine while her hind legs moved back, a motion that is important in walking. I also taught Janet some basic SENSE Method movements to help keep her beloved companion feeling rejuvenated.
