Hi Laurie,
I was wondering what your thoughts are about assisting a non ambulatory dog/cat by holding their tail? I'm asking because I have recently had a few neuro patients (pelvic limb paresis) do some rehab sessions who were instructed by their previous therapist (who is now on sick leave, thus why they are coming to me) to assist their hind limbs by essentially suspending them by their tail.
I've just recently obtained CCRP but do work under a vet who is also CCRP. Neither of us had come across this in our CCRP training. She suggested I contact you for your thoughts on the matter.
Thank you in advance,
SR
Tail walking
Re: Tail walking
Interesting question!
I’ve seen this done before as well and it’s always bothered me. There are nerves in the tail. Those nerves come from the spine and they pull. So as a gut reaction, I have been opposed.
However, you can see some dogs walk better with some tail support or stimulation (i.e. even just rubbing / rolling the tail between your fingers can sometimes help improve motor function.) A neuro physio that I taught with at CRI years ago wondered if it might have had some benefit because the nerve that go to the tail are innermost within the spinal cord, and so if you stimulate the tail, you can get an excitatory overflow stimulus that improves nearby portions of the spinal cord as well. It’s the best theory I’ve heard of…
So for me, I would rather try to get some walking by stimulating the tail as compared to holding them up with it. (A bit easier to do try in an UWT b/c of the buoyancy of the water.)
There you go, that’s my 2 cents on the subject! I hope it helps!
Cheers,
Laurie
I’ve seen this done before as well and it’s always bothered me. There are nerves in the tail. Those nerves come from the spine and they pull. So as a gut reaction, I have been opposed.
However, you can see some dogs walk better with some tail support or stimulation (i.e. even just rubbing / rolling the tail between your fingers can sometimes help improve motor function.) A neuro physio that I taught with at CRI years ago wondered if it might have had some benefit because the nerve that go to the tail are innermost within the spinal cord, and so if you stimulate the tail, you can get an excitatory overflow stimulus that improves nearby portions of the spinal cord as well. It’s the best theory I’ve heard of…
So for me, I would rather try to get some walking by stimulating the tail as compared to holding them up with it. (A bit easier to do try in an UWT b/c of the buoyancy of the water.)
There you go, that’s my 2 cents on the subject! I hope it helps!
Cheers,
Laurie
LAURIE EDGE-HUGHES