Joy, our Border Collie puppy, injured her left rib cage, resulting in a large hematoma behind her front leg. Her primary veterinarian, Dr. Betsy Gray placed a drain in the area and then as healing began to take place, I took her to Mountainside Veterinary Rehabilitation. Dr. Carlson began Integrative Medicine involving acupuncture, chiropractic and stretching exercises to assist Joy in her healing so that the injury would not inhibit her ability to fully extend and utilize her left leg. Joy is now in herding training and is fully healed with no evidence of her previous injury.
Joint dysfunction (segmental dysfunction) can lead to regional dysfunction which can lead to dysfunction of the entire body system. For example, areas of dysfunction in the shoulder or pelvic areas can lead to changes in gait pattern with can lead to pain in other compensating areas of the pet’s body. Also, if you have dysfunction in areas nerves exit the spine which innervate and influence organs (like the intestinal tract) it can cause other clinical presentations (diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, etc…).
This VSMT technique primarily stimulates GTO (golgi tendon organs), decreases muscle spasming, increases firing/function of large diameter neurological fibers leading to inhibition of pain/small diameter fibers, increase cortex function, and influencing sympathetic tone. This encourages plasticity and facilitation as well as a well-functioning cortex. Plasticity is the ability of the nervous system to edit and reform it’s connections. For example, plasticity is the basis of memory, gait, and can help the body recover after damage including spinal cord injury, stroke and disc disease. The cortex controls the response of the central nervous to the input the body provides, so a well-functioning cortex will lead to a well-functioning body and body systems. For the athlete this helps them achieve the best health possible and maintenance of the body and it’s systems to help prevent and to recover from injury.
VSMT can be used to treat pain, areas of restriction and overall maintenance and health.