McTimoney Animal Manipulation
What is McTimoney Animal Manipulation?
McTimoney Animal Manipulation is a ‘holistic’ therapy that aims to ensure the correct function of the whole body. The main focus of the technique is the bodys’ capacity to ‘self-heal’ – this is something that we are all born with.
An Animal Manipulator uses their hands to detect and treat misalignments in the spine. This in turn stimulates a reflex action in the muscles, allowing the vertebra to begin returning to the ‘blueprint’ location.
Animal Manipulation is a healing ‘process’, not an ‘event’, therefore several treatments may be required to help the animal return to full health. Further, owners need to be prepared for the fact that the animal may appear to actually get worse before they get better.
Who is it for?
McTimoney Animal Manipulation is suitable for any animal, from a family pet, to a competition or working animal. Veterinary permission must be sought before any treatment can commence, due to the legal guidelines of treatment and to ensure that there are no underlying problems that could be exacerbated by a treatment.
Contraindications for treatment:
- Recent accident or injury.
- Recent fracture.
- Slipped/herniated vertebral discs.
- Hip dysplasia.
- Neurological disorders.
- Some types of medication.
Some contraindications can be catered for within a treatment. However, your Animal Manipulator may need to discuss your animals’ particular needs with your veterinary surgeon before commencing treatment.
What is a misalignment?
The ‘blueprint’ of health is when the spine is completely straight and allows the full range of motion of each joint. In this situation, the nervous system functions correctly. A misalignment is when a vertebra moves out of line with its neighbouring vertebra. In this situation, the nervous system is compromised.
Between each vertebra is a pair of spinal nerves that supply the muscles and organs of the body. If a vertebra becomes misaligned, one of the pair of spinal nerves is stretched and the other is pinched. This is a bit like having a kink in a hosepipe when you are trying to water the garden. The brain can’t effectively receive or send messages to the muscles and organs affected by the misalignment. If the misalignment has affected the internal organs, there will be no outward signs.
When a vertebra is misaligned the spine cannot move through its normal range of motion. This may be seen as an altered gait pattern, or a referred pain in another area of the body away from the actual site of misalignment.
When a misalignment first arises, your animal will often experience pain or discomfort. However, the body adapts well and the animal may appear to recover, even though the misalignment remains. This adaptation process continues until the maximum anatomical range of motion is reached in the joint(s) where the misalignment(s) exist.
How do I know if my animal has a misalignment?
There are lots of signs to look for, but as each animal has a different response to pain, you may not see any of them. This is why routine, preventative care is so important.
Obvious signs:
- A clear indication of pain (eg yelping) when the animal does a particular activity such as getting out of bed or jumping into a car.
- Reluctance to perform normal activities such as using the stairs or jumping onto the sofa.
- Resentment of being touched, picked up, groomed or tacked up.
- Altered movement patterns such as lameness, ‘bunny hopping’ or swinging quarters in/out, especially in canter.
Less obvious signs:
- Muscle wastage.
- Subtle changes in behaviour.
- Reduced performance if it is a competition, working or agility animal.
How are misalignments caused?
There are two main causes of misalignments – chronic and acute conditions.
Acute causes:
These are the one-off ‘accidents’, that will often leave the animal with obvious signs of a problem. This could be a slip, trip or fall that may not seem to have affected the animal, or may have caused a clear injury. For example, in dogs - misjudging a jump into or out of a car, running into a double-glazed door or being involved in a serious accident. Horses may have become cast in their stable, collided with or fallen at a fence or been kicked by another horse.
Chronic causes:
These tend to be a ‘repetitive strain’ type, where symptoms develop over time. Examples in dogs include: always being led from the same side; always sitting or lying on a preferred side of the body; playing lots of rough and tumble with another animal; quick, stop-start-turn actions found when playing fetch or performing dog agility. Horses may be worked or turned out on uneven ground, have badly fitting tack, unbalanced feet, and are often led from, mounted from and have buckles done up from the same side. In addition to this, the horse is easily affected by the rider – how they ride, their balance and position.
What happens during a treatment?
- A clear explanation of the treatment process will be given and you will have the opportunity to ask questions.
- Veterinary permissions will be established and discussed if necessary.
- A thorough case history will be taken and questions asked about the presenting signs (if any). You may find some questions curious, such as the type of flooring in your house or your horses’ stable, routines and habits but they all help to paint a clearer picture of the problem.
- Gait analysis will be undertaken, looking for altered movement patterns, lameness and compromised movement of the spine.
- Neurological testing will be conducted to ensure that the nervous system isn’t already compromised by an underlying condition.
- Manual palpation of the spine will be carried out to identify any misalignments.
- The spine will be manipulated using McTimoney techniques.
- Aftercare procedures and preventative medicine will be discussed.