Dog and Cat Massage is Helpful, Holistic Touch Therapy for Pets and People
J. Hunter, DVM
Most of us have felt reassured comforted and loved by the touch of another at some point in our lives. In people, massage therapy has been touted with numerous benefits: relaxation, relief of anxiety, improvement of digestion, fascial pain relief, improved circulation helping to relieve paresthesia (altered sensation disorders) and nerve pain. Beyond specific and objective therapeutic benefits many people enjoy massage because it involves a caring, loving touch. This adjunctive and supportive therapy, while not a replacement for traditional medical care, is advantageous for all the reasons listed above and provides less tangible, extremely beneficial feelings of happiness and contentment, both of which have been repeatedly shown to aid in faster healing times in people.
Should it surprise us then that the same benefits are readily elucidated in animals? Comforting massage creates a deep connection between patient and therapist. In veterinary medicine, sometime the therapist is a veterinarian or a veterinary technician specially trained in massage. In some instances, your veterinarian may prescribe at home therapy with a pet massage therapist. KneadedPets provides in home as well as in clinic services.
As with people, there are individual preferences common to each species as well as individuals within a species. Therapy should be individual guided and be neither painful nor uncomfortable. If you’re doing it right, most pets will enter into a deep state of drug-free relaxation, or even fall asleep. The latter is the highest compliment we can receive from our patients.
