![]() ![]() This affects the practitioner’s ability to make proper recommendations for future injury prevention, as well as follow-up treatment and rehabilitation when an animal finally goes back into work. ![]() There is also a marked lack of knowledge about the unique emotional and physical demands placed on dogs in different disciplines, especially when it comes to the biomechanical interactions between various body parts. Some ligaments are so small that damage is written off as meaningless by everyone but the dog! Many muscle, tendon, ligament and fascial injuries still go undetected or receive inadequate treatment. With the increased use of dogs in sport and work, musculoskeletal injuries similar to those seen in human and equine athletes should be thought to be inevitable – so why aren’t they diagnosed more? While much is changing with the increasing awareness of performance and function-limiting injuries, and their importance in canine athletes (whether “pros” or weekend warriors), there are still limitations in the identification and prevention of these injuries, especially soft tissue ones. Musculoskeletal issues in performance and working dogs (For additional in-depth information regarding “the working dog”, readers are referred to the author’s chapter in the new edition of Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Zink and Van Dyke, Editors.) This article will review unique considerations involving the canine athlete, as well as some of the more common injuries that an integrative veterinary sports medicine and/or rehabilitation practitioner might encounter in practice. Integrative veterinary practitioners with functional biomechanical, neurologic, structural, manipulative, herbal, homeopathic, acupuncture and nutritional knowledge are uniquely positioned to play significant roles in the healthcare and management of the canine athlete. Currently, the veterinary world seems to be putting more emphasis on the sequelae of injury (surgical corrections and physiotherapy management) rather than thorough diagnosis of primary and secondary injuries – the “what” rather than the “how”. While the number of veterinary practitioners trained in physiotherapy (or PT, rehabilitation) is growing rapidly, the techniques of applied healing after injury can’t achieve their maximum value without proper consideration of the chronological progression to, and the global body health repercussions created by, any one injury. With greater use and value (both monetary and emotional) comes an increased need for different ways of thinking regarding the health management of these dogs. Additionally, due to increased public security concerns and population use of recreational venues, new demands are developing for the use of dogs in patrol/protection (Shutzhund, French Ring), detection (explosives, drugs, arson, mold, termites, bed bugs, food, poachers, wildlife management), urban/back-country search and rescue (SAR), and avalanche rescue/recovery. And with the recent growth of agility, fly-ball, obedience, herding, snow/dry-land sled racing, and nose-work as competitive “hobbies”, more dogs than ever before are considered to “have jobs”. ![]() The selective manipulation of natural canine behavior and body types to produce dogs that perform specific tasks for humans has created various problems often not recognized by current conventional orthopedics. While this seems to be a new and rapidly-growing aspect of veterinary medicine, working dogs have needed extra care and consideration since humans first started using them over 2,000 years ago. The care of the canine athlete in performance and working disciplines is finally getting much-needed attention and awareness. Applying rehab and physiotherapy techniques to an injured dog should be preceded by a proper consideration of how the injury developed and progressed, and how it affects the health and function of the entire body. ![]()
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