Laurie's Blogs.

Dear Laurie

I hope you are doing well.

Since last year I am the proud owner of a approximately 4 year old female dog, a Puli. She came to me via internet, from an animal shelter, where she had spent 5 months. Prior to that she must have been a dog roaming the streets. When I picked her up she was actually fat!  And she presented with extremely hard lumps in the paravertebral lumbar region. I recall we talked about exactly this at your seminar. What is it? Fat accumulation? Just tightness in the muscles? I am massaging the areas with fierce determination nearly daily, but to hardly any avail. She is visibly enjoying the manual affection. She seems to have no back problems, no limping,... Could you tell me, what it might be? Oh, and she has already lost weight, but the lumps are still there.

Hoping that you can give me some advice

Kind regards

U.

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Hello U!

Okay... so what I think happens in these scenarios is that the process is in response to the spondylosing of the lumbar vertebrae.

Two things I find with dogs that have those lumps - one is that their quadratus lumborum is very tender... and quadratus lumborum is thought to play an extra duty role in stabilizing the dog's spine.  

But that doesn't explain the fatty lumps.  A colleague of mine dissected an older dog that had had these, and she had found that the lumps were indeed fatty.

So, my next thought stems from the knowledge that atrophied muscles can experience fatty infiltration amongst the fibres.  So... if there is spondylosis and the epaxial muscle are not able to conduct their same workload in this area and hence become atrophied... then perhaps what we are finding is fatty infiltration of the epaxials

Just my thinking anyways!

So as for what to do.  One would think nothing.

However when I was on my last teaching (of veterinary chiropractors), I was told that they were able to witness a radiographic resolving of some cases spondylosis with chiropractic management.  So... perhaps if you mobilize the spine, you might (MIGHT) be able to affect a change.  Additionally, if the issue is non-use, then perhaps use of electrical muscle stimulation could change the composition of the muscle in the region.

If you make tremendous improvements, you'll have to let me know!

Good luck!

Laurie