Spinal Injury Case Study Toni Shelbourne donated by Rachael  Tellington TTouch P2  www.mekuti.co.uk

Spots spinal injury happened in November 2006 and for the first 10 weeks he had been cared for at his local veterinary practice and then Medivet Veterinary Hospital.  He suffered an Intervertebral Disc Rupture between C4 and C% but he had a previous injury around L1 in November 2005.  In January 2007 hewas transfered to Greyfriars Rehabilitation Referral Center near Guildford where he was recieving 24 hour specialist care.  The prognosis was poor but the expert staff at Greyfriars were determined to pull him through.  The agreement was that Spot would stay for an initial two weeks to see if they could show enough improvement to make it fair to continue with Spot's treatment - the alternative was euthanasia.

This case study only looks at the Tellington TTouch, one aspect of his recovery.  As well as TTouch, Spot recieved Acupunture, Physiotherapy, Laser Therapy, Hydrotherapy, and conventional drug therapy for inflammation and pain relief.  The Holistic recovery programme was very much a team effort with each modality playing its part.  Attitude towards Spot also played a very important role with all of us being very upbeat and when safe to do so, really encouraging him to do as much as possible for himself.  This case study looks at spot's progress with the TTouch over 19 sessions covering 5 months.  Sessions were either once or twice a week and lasted for 1 hour per session.

I was first asked to see Spot in January 2007 by Greyfriars' owner Angela Grifiths.  Spot's prognosis was very cautious and the team were seeing little improvement in him.  He had no movement in his legs and could only lift his head up for short periods of time before it flopped back down.  His right hind leg and left shoulder were locked and had no movement, all feet were ice cold, in fact he had socks on to help keep him warm, the left hand side of his body was tight and he also had tension in his back, being guarded around the lumbar region.  Spot's right hand side was better than the left but still tight and he was extremely guarded in his head and muzzle area.  This was possibly due to sores inside the mouth were he had bitten the inside of his cheeks at the vets.  Spot got extremely distressed if left and would bark constantly.  The inside of his mouth was infected, which he was on treatment for.  Due to this need for physical contact (you had to be physically touching him or else he became distressed) 24 hour care and supervision was given.  He also had a healing pressure sore on his right hand shoulder.

In the first session I started off working very lightly with feathers, paint brushes and a sheepskin mitten.  I went on to use abalone all along his back to start gently releasing the tension in his whole body.  Other TTouches used were harp seal, snails tails, turtle, python lifts, zig-zag and ear work.  Spot was suffering from a sense of disconnection so to help with this I used an Ace Bandage to wrap down all his legs and connected them down his back for a whole body connection.  Throughout the session it was obvious that Spot was happier to be worked on his right hand side and (also spending some time in the change over from one side to another) on his back with his legs up in the air.  By the end of the hour long session he was much more relaxed and only had a few areas where he was still guarded.  The team at Greyfriars know some of the TTouch work through staff training sessions with me so I was able to leave instructions for them to work on him between sessions.

Three days later when I saw Spot again he was already much improved, wanting to sit up in a sloched sphinx position which he could do with support, he was more alert and had started to reach out with his neck for tit-bits offered.  There had also been small but significant movements in his front paws which had not been seen before.  In fact they had stopped swimming him due to getting no movements in any of his limbs in the pool.  Although Spot was still guarded around the ears, head and face I was able to work much more down his legs.  I started the session using different materials on him again, like the sheepskin and a jelly scrubber but I could quickly progress on to TTouch with my hands and concentrated on connected TTouches down his legs and lifts to help start opening up the shoulder, creating space between his fore legs. Gentle lifts with an ace bandage were very useful for this.

By 31st January Spot certainly had more zest for life and much improvement was being seen.  It was starting to be obvious that on the evening or day after a TTouch session Spot was making significant progress.  The 72 hour rule of latent learning for the nervous system is so important, not only for seeing changes in behaviour, but also for spinal and other injuries. Spot now had normal movement in his neck, his ears were warm and the whole head area was less reactive to touch.  The only area now was cold and reactive was his paws.  He would often become very vocal when I worked in these areas so I had to find a way of doing that without over stressing him.  In the rest of his body I was starting to br much more up beat, not having to work so cautiously.  Instead I was aiming for waking the nervous system up with energising TTouches like flick of the paws and doing faster circles.  I continued to wrap Spot in as many different ways I could, some times in a version of a half wrap to encourage space between his forelegs and other versions to give him a full body connection.

By the fourth session Spot had flickering movements in his hind leg and could push against you with his fore feet.  Some of the TTouches used in this session included tarantula, pulling the plough, inch worm, raindrops around his head as well as lots of different connected circles and lifts all over his body and especially down his legs.  I also discovered that if I put leg wraps on him, not only was he happier about me handling his feet but by the end of a session they would be warmer.

It is very important that, when medically appropriate an animal is helped to stand up for short periods on a regular basis.  It is also important to increase an animals confidence in their movements and to challenge their range of movement.  Greyfriars use theraballs tucked under the abdomen/thorax to help with assisted standing.  When I arrived to see Spot for the 5th session at the end of February he was up in a sitting position, although aided so he didn't fall, and reaching forward and creeping in to a down position for cheese.  In this session he was happier to have his feet touched and I got some flicking of the fore feet and lifting of the left fore leg.

All dogs going through spinal recovery rehab have a bleep at some point and in early March Spot had a bout of diarrhoea.  This can sometimes be due to prescribed medication or because of a weakened immune system.  He was very down when I saw him, shaking and uncomfortable.  Although the diarrhoea was now under control he had not defacated for three days and the team was anxious for him to do so.  Due to his condition I concentrated on calming, warming, comforting TTouches and especially worked his belly and hind quarters.  By the end of the session he had brightened up and looked like he might defacate soon.  When I left him he was calm and quiet and I'd had a nice push through from his hind legs while I was working.  Later that day he defacated and recovered quickly after that.  To the teams surprise Spot was back to the same point within a week.

Throughout March we had very promising movements in all limbs and by the end of March we had movement in all four legs in the pool and he was being fitted for a doggie wheel cart.  He was also being encouraged to walk a few steps with support.  He was trying to move himself and if something really interested him he'd even crawl.  In fact you had to watch him as he'd try to take off when he saw his favourite people Angela or Kirsty - one of them always stayed with him overnight.  Of course with more exercise the body becomes tired and a little tight but we could support this through the TTouch works as well as stimulating his body to the next stage of recovery.

After an Easter break at home with his family, Spot returned a little unsettled and sore but he was still making great progress.  He felt better throughout his body and had more range of movement.  For the first time when I flipped him from one side to the other he did most of the movement himself.  At the end of the session he got up and tried to crawl to Angela so we walked him out side.  He walked using all four legs with us reminding him which ones to use and supporting him.  He even stood unnaided except with us touching him lightly to help keep his balance and for confidence.

When I turned up for his 13th session he was up and walking with the team, in fact they were having trouble keeping him settled he was so active, wanting to be outside, starting to play and be cheeky.  He was crossing his forelegs over in front of him a lot so we wrapped him at the shoulder and put leg wraps on to bring awareness to this.  At the end of the session he got himself up and made his way over to Angela again.

By the end of April he was doing really well in his wheels, going home regularly at the weekends and only had a couple of weeks before he would be discharged.  With lots of intensive work on and around his chest and shoulders I was starting to see more movement and space between the forelegs.  In preparation for him going home it was time to teach people how to do the TTouches so they could carry the work on once he was home.

The last month at Greyfriars Spot went through days where he was sore due to working so hard and days of great progress.  The decission to discharge was based on Spot progressing to the point where one person could take him out for toiletting fairly easily.  Once home, Spot returned regularly for hydrotherapy.  TTouch sessions continued untill his people were comfortable with the work.  At home he was now walking up and down a specially constructed ramp and moving more confidently and trying out new movements every day.

With spinal injuries, if there is a possibility that an animal can heal, the best course of action is to be very proactive.  \it is no good trying just one modality at a time, if they work well together then try as much as possible.  It could possibly take months to recover but for some animals recovery is possible even though they may be left with some form of disability.  What you aim to achieve is a good quality of life and to give the animal the choice whether to recover or not.  Vets may be negative about prospect but the  best piece of advice I can give you through my experience with spinal injured animals is to ask the animal if they still want to be here, they will always give you an honest answer.

NB.  Greyfriars owner, Angela Griffiths has no doubt of the value of TTouch.  "Doberman Spot, was an inpatient at Greyfriars for five months after he lost the use of his legs due to spinal disc problems.  Looking after Spot was both physically and mentally exhausting because of his distress and noise levels if left, even for a few minutes.  Spot overreacted to any stress or stimulus and his muscle tone would stiffen.  TTouch was vital to reverse these effects and we all looked forward to a more relaxed Spot following sessions with Toni Shelbourne - both he and the team benefitted.  TTouch was used on Spot regularly with dramatic result - after each session his ability to move improved and this convinced me of the benefits.  He is now home with his family who have been taught the TTouch techniques to help his continuing rehabilitation".

 

The above information is simply informational. It's intent is not to replace the advice of a veterinarian nor to assist you in making a diagnosis of your pet. Please consult with your own veterinarian for confirmation of any diagnosis. Your pets life may depend on it.