Case Study - Brock

Brock is a working cocker spaniel who has worked in the field (beating and picking up as a working gundog), worked for an assistance dog charity as an assessment dog and has also been a much-loved pet.

When he was 6 years old he begun to show a marked and sudden reduction in activity along with signs of pain (stiffness when getting up / reluctance to use the stairs and jump into the car and some grumbling when he was touched or needed to be picked up – i.e., to get him into the car).  A journey of discovery was undertaken with vet visits and referrals for imaging and eventually he was diagnosed with IVDD (inter-vertebral disc disease) which is where a change in the disc between the affected vertebrae leads to pain and compression on the spinal cord.

For Brock the situation was not severe enough to warrant surgery and so his treatment has been to manage his pain with medication and optimise his health, comfort and performance with therapy.

The pain and symptoms for Brock led him to alter his gait to avoid any additional movement and pain in his affected joints, which in turn led to tightness and pain in other areas of his body (known as compensatory patterns).  Through a combination of McTimoney on these other affected areas, soft tissue work and also working with a hydrotherapist to help improve his gait further, Brock is now living a life as free of pain as possible and is still fit and active and enjoying his daily walks (even though he had to retire from the intense effort needed as a working dog).