Stan the greyhound was a rescue dog who had been a race dog for most of his early life. He’s a very gentle and lovely dog who loves interacting with people.
Recently, he developed a limp in his front left leg, which J, his owner, could see was causing him pain. J’s local vet was unable to find the cause of the problem, and her pet insurance referred Stan to a specialist vet. The specialist diagnosed a problem called “carpal hyperextension.” This condition means one or more of the tendons in Stan’s leg have been overstretched, causing the leg to pull short, resulting in a limp.
Unfortunately, the only treatment option offered by the specialist vet was surgery, costing £4,000-5,000! And this wasn’t covered by J’s insurance. A friend suggested she try a dog physiotherapist, so she did. The physiotherapist advised very short walks and some simple exercises, which Stan struggled to do. Still, it looked like J would be committed to spending lots of money on physiotherapy treatments for the foreseeable future, without knowing whether it would help or heal.
Juan at Paloma Bowen Therapy is a close friend of J’s, and he suggested she try Bowen for Stan. J knew it had helped people – friends of hers – and had been amazed at how effective it was, but she wasn’t aware it could also work for dogs.
Juan explained that dog and human anatomy are quite similar and that Bowen Therapy can be applied to dogs just as well as for people, with some adjustments. J knew she had nothing to lose in trying, and was open to anything that might help reduce the pain Stan was feeling.
After just one treatment session – which lasted only 10 minutes – the next day J’s daughter was walking Stan for her, and she noticed that he was much improved and didn’t seem to have such a pronounced limp. J’s daughter wasn’t aware of Stan’s Bowen treatment, yet she noticed the improvement!
J arranged a follow up treatment with Juan and again noticed a marked improvement in Stan in the days following. Juan recommended leaving any further treatment for a longer period, to allow Stan to adapt to the changes taking place in his body, which had become used to compensating for the effect his tightened tendons had had on his ability to walk and run.
A few weeks later, Juan carried out one more treatment on Stan and commented on how much more relaxed his tendons felt, confirming another aspect of Bowen Therapy, that the healing continues long after treatment. Today, J reports that Stan seems so much improved it is hard to remember he had a limp at all.
Dogs are wonderful companions and give their owners a lot of love, and no owner ever wants to see their dog in pain or suffering. It’s good to know that Bowen Therapy could help your dog heal from an injury or other issue, much in the way many people report it has done for them, and possibly even save you a lot of money in expensive surgery or ongoing longer-term treatments. Why not find out if Bowen Therapy could help your dog?