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I couldn't post this to the forum - maybe I don't have access - can you post this? Not even sure what category it might go under!! Thanks!

Weak Pelvic Floor?

I have a close friend with a 4-year-old male, intact Doberman. Very active dog – conformation, IPG, agility and is in excellent physical shape – he is stunning! He has had multiple abdominal surgeries (3) for foreign bodies. When she bikes or runs with him for any sustained periods, he literally pees. Even if she is out a 25-30 minute run, he will dribble. He has been checked by the vet, blood work, ultrasound on his bladder – all fine. Sometimes the owner also notices that he pees without good flow (prostate has also been checked and cleared). He is not a marker in the house and does not have any accidents inside. She also has found he might dribble a bit when he hits the A Frame hard. To me it sounds like weak pelvic muscles – similar to what humans get – does this make sense? Has anyone else seen this? To help strengthen this pelvic floor, we are doing pelvic tilts, core stability on unstable objects and LOTS of 2 leg stands, in addition to a full strength training program. I am starting to try some myofascial release to his abdominal region to see if I can further break up the scar tissue. Has anyone seen this? Any other tips/exercises?

Carolyn

Hey Carolyn,

I have this week off… I’m just around home, but I’m working on a few projects, and trying to not be glued to the computer. It’s not turing out that way. Anyways, sorry for the tardy reply.
I’ll post this to the forum for you - but likely you haven’t signed up for it yet. You need to create a username (not your e-mail) and a password. I know, it’s a bit of a duplication, but that’s just how the software worked!

Okay, so to your question.
1. David Lane’s Presentation on incontinence may have some useful tidbits in there for you. (i.e. double, triple, and quadruple check his back & pelvis). I’d treat them ‘proactively’ as well… just to see. Perhaps throw in some acupoints. (See the videos on Physio for Incontinence in Dogs.)

2. With having had 3 abdominal surgeries, you could either have scar tissue as you thought about already, OR, perhaps a ‘diastasis recti’ as happens in women sometimes with pregnancy and c-sections.

So, I’ve not gotten too far into creating videos for visceral manipulation yet. (I’ll need another 10days off for that!) However, go ahead and try to find / feel the bladder and move it slowly with a long hold in different directions. (I have to look up techniques and anatomy for that myself!!!)

OR, if the case is a diastasis recti, firstly feel along the linea alba. Is there a gap anywhere, an area that feels wider? Yes, or no, it’s worth trying the next bit. So, I’d have the owner try running with him with a theraband or tensor wrapped around his abdomen (ahead of the penis)… tight enough that it changes the shape / outline of the abdominal area (if that makes sense).

I’d try the abdominal bandaging for a few weeks, even if it doesn’t create an immediate response. If it does… then it could be a gap in the linea alba. Let’s come back to that. If it helps a bit… or maybe it helps after some training with it… then it could just be the weak abdominals. If week abdominals, the exercises you are doing should help target it… just make sure you’re not progressing to inflatables too soon. I’d also use an e-stim on the abs while doing 3-leg stand in order to retrain potentially inhibited abdominals. Back to the potential diastasis recti. In people, if we have this, then sometimes a surgical correction is what’s needed to secure the linea alba and allow proper abdominal control and visceral pressure / positions / etc while moving and contracting the abdominals.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,

Laurie

Although this is not a true incontinence case, I have documented 4 cases with similar histories, and achieved a similar response rate (so far with n=4) as I have with incontinence using combined acupuncture and manual therapy coupled with laser.