He came to see me and after three treatments he was a little better then the lameness returned again, then on the four treatment the lameness went and look what happened!

Claire: As you can see Misha is definitely not a write off and the pair’s achievements are as follows:

•  Kennel Club International Agility Festival – International junior handler jumping clear, agility 6th, clear in the final.
• YKC agility 3rd, qualifying them for Crufts 2011.

 DINAS agility week -

• Junior agility 4th, jumping 9th & 10th.
• Junior finals RUNNERS UP

 Wow. What a pair!

Misha and Rowan

I can’t tell how wonderful my Dylan is, he is completely back to normal, well his back end is still wobbly, but he is so happy.  After we left the show we went to see some friends who live nearby and he was checking everything out like he usually does while we had tea in the garden and out of the blue he came charging round the corner with a really silly grin on his face and started dancing round the Labradors trying to make them play, it was so gorgeous to watch I can’t remember the last time he was like that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You are a miracle worker. Claire

After a subequent treatment!

Just to let you know all is fine with my boys, as ever no ill effects at all.  They were all very sleepy when we got home and the same on Friday but by Saturday the excess energy was scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Dylan is keeping up the work on his back legs muscle improvement I have the foot prints up my back to prove it!!!!!!!!!!

Harley

Harley’s story

In December 2008 our much loved Golden Retriever Harley started limping. He was at this time eighteen months old. We could not remember him suffering any trauma and just rested him in the hope that it was just a muscle strain.

Then on New Years Eve 2008 we became very proud owners of one of Harley’s younger brother’s – Bailey. Harley was visibly pleased to have someone to play with and immediately they bonded and became inseparable, as they are to this day.

However Harley’s limping did not improve and after a few visits to our vet an X-ray was recommended. This was undertaken and showed our vet that there appeared to be a problem with Harley’s knee and she asked if we would allow her to get a second opinion on the X-rays from an orthopaedic vet colleague. Of course we agreed without hesitation.

Following this second opinion, when it was confirmed that Harley had suffered a cruciate ligament injury, we actually made an appointment to see the specialist vet who had given the diagnosis. This was in February 2009. It was then that he confirmed our worst fears that in reality Harley would not improve without quite a major operation to stabilise his knee. The vet explained everything in great detail to us but we were still in shock, mostly at the length of the rehabilitation that would be required following the very complex surgery and also the fact that the prognosis was such that he may never be able to run and chase rabbits etc again and may even need to be ‘lead walked’ for ever.

This was terrible news as we had only just got Bailey who was just at the stage when he could go out having completed all his puppy injections and the two dogs were having such fun running and playing together.

Harley did not appear to be in pain but every time he got up after a sleep he limped and seemed very slow and wary as to how he got up. At this stage the limping only appeared to be at ‘start up’ and after a few minutes he was fine again. We noticed though that the limping was much worse after he had had a lot of exercise or playing.

After much thought and soul searching we decided that we could not face the option of surgery and would try everything in our power to ‘cure’ Harley using non invasive methods. We plagued our poor vet with numerous questions and visits and eventually, with her help, came to be referred to Julia at Galen Therapy.

The initial consultation with Julia was such a relief as she gave us hope and guidance as to how best to treat Harley. She advised us on how to exercise him and showed us simple physiotherapy techniques.

After a while we then took Harley to a canine hydrotherapy pool Julia knew of, which was great fun. This was not exercise or therapy at all to Harley, this was just great fun in his eyes. Bailey went along too and played in the water but very quickly followed his brother and swum lengths although really was very much happier just playing with the toys in the shallow bit!!!

We continued seeing Julia every six weeks or so for treatment, comprising of myotherapy, ultrasound and physiotherapy  and also continued with weekly hydrotherapy sessions, as much as anything because the dogs so loved this and showed us their enjoyment of it with constantly wagging tails and literally dragging us into the pool area every Saturday!!

Unfortunately though towards the end of that year Harley started limping more. Quite coincidentally Harley’s sister seemed to have suffered the same problem, except that she actually ruptured her cruciate ligament.  She was taken by her owner, an ex veterinary nurse, to a specialist vet in the Kent area who specialised in knee injuries and operated on dogs with these type of injuries every single week. We spoke at length with that owner who had been very impressed with that vet and told us that the prognosis was fantastic and that her dog was doing really well following the ligament repair surgery.

We therefore plucked up the courage to visit this vet in Kent. We were very impressed with him and he told us that after the operation and the strict rehabilitation needed that Harley should be a normal dog and could be treated as such. No need for permanent lead walking at all!

Harley underwent surgery with this vet in February 2010 after which we completed his rehabilitation exactly as requested and were very strict with him, which was a little awkward at times but he seemed to understand and Bailey also seemed to realise that big brother could not play for a while.  The total time that we were careful with him in regard to his walking and exercise was eight weeks, we adhered exactly to the rehabilitation guidelines given to us by the vet who performed the surgery.

Since that time Harley has gone from strength to strength. We have continued with his hydrotherapy to help build up his muscles and also have seen Julia on a couple of occasions since and again she has given us very sound advice and reassurance.

Today Harley is a normal happy healthy three year old retriever who loves nothing more than a good play and roll around with other dogs. He chases rabbits (although has not got a hope of catching them but that is nothing to do with the surgery!) and is constantly running around. He has no limp and even though it is only five months post surgery you really would not know there was ever anything wrong.

We have everything to thank Julia for. Her help and advice during those worrying months before Harley’s surgery were invaluable. We know that by seeing her and her treating Harley she gave him the best possible chance of a successful operation, his muscles were at an optimum stage which meant that his rehabilitation and recovery after surgery was easier. Without her help we are absolutely sure that Harley would have taken very much longer to rehabilitate and without question he would have come to surgery much quicker. She taught us exercises that enabled us to help him to strengthen up the wasted muscles that he had not used for a while, she gave us such good advice that helped us to understand his diagnosis and therefore how best to help him.

We still see Julia, she is now a friend to us all, and Harley really does like to visit her. In fact he just lays down on her couch and goes to sleep and let her gets on with it!!

Richard and Janet Dix.

He was x-rayed and no damage to his spine or pelvis was visible. The Veterinary Surgeons likened his injury to that of a severely ‘dead leg’. He was hospitalised for two days, and was unable to stand or use his right hind leg. When he was discharged from the practice, I was told to keep him on cage rest. I knew the importance of soft tissue damage and the impact that it has on length of recovery and immediately phoned Julia to discuss his case.

I have known Julia in a professional capacity for several years after she kindly gave a guest lecture to degree students that I was teaching.  I was also aware that Julia’s main area of expertise was dogs- not cats. Luckily Julia was more than happy to see Albert. On veterinary referral, Julia agreed to treat Albert. The first session she was able to identify several areas of pain and soft tissue damaged. Julia said that his gluteals felt like they had been damaged. She massaged the affected tissues and manipulated the soft tissue in several areas. Julia also gave me some extension exercises and finger tip massage movements to apply to the damaged muscles while at home. Within two days Bert was able to walk dramatically better. His hind leg whose foot had been turned outward at a 2 O’clock position and had a stiff non flexible walking posture was starting to turn back to the correct position of facing forwards. I continued with the extensions and the massage treatment and phoned Julia a week later to  discuss progress and the next appointment. Julia wanted to see him the following week to re-evaluate his progress. She was amazed that after two weeks, he was walking like a normal cat! Bertie was back!

I am a strong believer in ensuring that soft tissue is treated during rehabilitation programmes, but I am amazed that the outcome and speed of recovery can be so dramatic. Bertie regained full flexibility in the hind leg, but unfortunately did not gain any more brain cells.

I would recommend this gentle treatment for anyone who has a cat recovering from soft tissue injury or associated soft tissue damage from orthopaedic surgery. It is essential that your vet refers you, and your cat does need to be well socialised and comfortable being handled as cats are not renowned for their compliant attitude to being physically manipulated and restrained. Julia was naturally ‘in tune’ with handling cats and was able to read the cats behaviour and assess how much treatment the individual would tolerate. So, a big thank you to Julia for her help and willingness to treat a new species.

Sarah Cottingham BSc(hons), PGCE, PGDip CABC, RVN

Smudger when he arrived before his first treatment.

When Smudger came to see me he looked unhappy and that was reflected very clearly though his face and whole posture. It transpired that his neck was incredibly tight and painful and was therefore effecting his movement and displaying a lameness that had mistakenly been taken for coming from his legs and/or shoulders.

After three treatments and then three 6 weekly follow ups Smudger has regained his joire to vivre and does not display any stiffness, he now will be coming for treatment if it is felt necessary by his handler!
Smudger after treatment looking happier and without the slouch.

Smudgers handlers comment ‘if only I knew about this therapy, it would have save so much time and money on other treatments that proved ineffectual’.

When he had his jaw broken (about a year before he began to see you), even though he’d healed very well indeed, better than my vets thought he would, he’d aged by about a year, he looked old and didn’t seem to be his old self at all.
He’d always come for a run with me, and he’d started to lag behind, I presumed it was because he’d aged, he was finding it hard to stay with me, especially towards the end of the run, he’d be well behind me, but he always wanted to come, he’d go all silly when he saw my get my gear on, and was so enthusiastic, that I couldn’t not take him so he did.

Another thing I’d noticed about 6 months after the accident, was that whenever he got off the sofa or stretched, his back end was very slightly wobbly, I thought the worst, that the kick to his head had affected his brain,and that he was losing the ability for his brain to send messages to his backend.
I took him to see my Vet, who took X-rays, as he found out he was stiff in his joints, so it was probably Arthritis, they all came back clear, so now I was extremely worried that it was his brain.

My Vet suggested that I take him to see Julia, and I cannot believe the change in him, after one session of Myotherapy, he trotted out of the room held his tail high,(which he hadn’t done for months),and hasn’t looked back since.
I was amazed at the way he responded after the first session, he was a different dog.
He has now regained the year he lost, plays like a 2 year old,and stays ahead of me on my runs, even at the end of them, he’s trotting along in front of me.
He’s the dog he was before the accident, and I’ll be forever grateful to Julia for all she’s done for my little Alfie.

We go for top-up treatments, as I want him to keep happy and healthy, it really is a miracle and Julia is an amazing girl, who has such a rapport with the dogs, she never puts pressure on them or forces them, if Alfie wants a wander than he can, all in all, it’s a nice relaxed time, with the most wonderful results.

Thankyou Julia,from Jenny and Alfie