pet therapy for elderly

Rose was in a 4-wheeler accident at their 4th of July outing. She went head over heels as she rolled her 4-wheeler. She had multiple injuries that affected her left shoulder, back, hips and legs. Four and a half months later she was knock-kneed.

Rose received two massages with a local massage therapist who helped free up her shoulder. The massage therapist did not address her lower body. When I came to town Rose asked me if I would give her a massage. She did not ask me to work a specific part of her body.

I had Rose put on a pair of shorts and walk the hall for me. I observed:

1. Her feet everted inward. Her lower legs did not sit straight in the joint between her ankles but drooped inward. She was wearing down the inside of her house slippers.

2. She was knock-kneed. Her thighs and knees rubbed together.The lower half of her legs spanned out in an unnatural tripod shape.

3. I tested her pelvis to see if it were in its proper position. It wasn’t. She had an anterior pelvic tilt.

4. She labored to walk as her hips were very tight. She seemed to drag her legs from side to side as she took each step.

She later informed me that her knocked-knees interfered with her exercising routines, walking, running and sometimes when she slept.

To remedy her problems I used a few different techniques:

1. I only worked on her legs. I used light effleurage strokes to empty the lymph fluid in her legs beginning with the upper leg then the lower leg. Lymph dumping sites are in the upper and lower torso so it is important to move lymph towards the dumping site. Always move lymph closest to the dumping site first to make room for additional lymph flow. In this case, I moved lymph from her thigh first so the lymph from her lower leg had a place to go when it was emptied.

2. I then did medium to deep tissue manipulation on her Quadriceps, the front of her thigh, while she was lying on her back. I then had her roll over on her side and I worked the inside of her thigh and calf of the same leg with the same long deep strokes. I had her flex and extend her ankle while I loosened and lengthened out the tight tissues on the inside of her leg. I used tapotment which is a light tapping with my finger tips and cupped hands to further loosen up the leg muscles.

3. I then had her lay on her stomach and I worked the back of her leg beginning with lymph drainage in the same fashion as described above. I then went into a medium to deep tissue stroke and manipulation of these muscles as I did with the rest of the leg.

4. I repeated this whole process on the other leg. I spent 45 minutes on each leg.

5. I then had her get up and walk to observe our work. She was so much better.

6. I then had her lie on her back again. I then used a Cranial Sacral Therapy technique to adjust her pelvis. I cradled her sacrum in my hand with my finger tips on the top of her pelvis. I tractioned her pelvis towards her feet while with the other arm tractioned each side of her pelvis inward towards the middle of her torso. She and I both felt her pelvis slowly slip back into place. The smile on her face told me that she could feel the relief. This took less than five minutes.

I had her slowly get up and walk again. She was giddy and giggly as she strutted around with the same mobility that she enjoyed not so long ago. She then began jumping up and down with joy clapping her hands and hugging me. She was amazed at how quickly we were able to relieve the pain in her knee and restore her range of motion and mobility.

Injury massage is my favorite. My greatest satisfaction comes from restoring quality of life and assisting the body in its healing process.