Little Mac

You’ve all heard of the Big Mac well this is a tale about a little Mac, although his will and determination sure is something to admire. Mac is a Jack Russel X Chihuahua who unexpectedly seemed in pain at home and lost the ability to walk on his front limbs at first then his back legs.  On further investigation and a referral to Liverpool University Veterinary Hospital it was discovered that he had suffered from a spinal extrusion and contusion in his cervical vertebra in his neck. All dogs just like humans are at risk of this occurring and sometimes only a slip or a jump can cause this to happen and it is not always a traumatic event, as in Mac’s case. The best option for Mac was to operate and he underwent ventral slot surgery of the cervical vertebra C3-4. The aim of this procedure is to remove any herniated disc material that is now present in the spinal canal. This relieves the pressure and hopes to return neurological sensation back to his toes.

We worked on some weight shifting exercises and balance with our wobble boards. Tackled his sense of feeling with our electric toothbrush – which definitely tickled his toes. Luckily for us he was already walking, which reduced the risk of muscle loss greatly. The longer an animal is recumbent the more muscle loss will occur and unfortunately the longer it will take to rebuild. We also managed to perform some massage along his spine to break down any tense muscle that built up, encourage circulation and provide different feeling to stimulate his mind and nervous system.

We started off slow as his injuries were still only recent. Mac has been attending twice weekly sessions for 6 weeks. His muscle tone has greatly improved and his walking is getting better each session. Mac was still wobbly when walking slowly on land or when he was tired. Before coming back to physiotherapy sessions and discussing with Sarah what we should do next we tried him out in the pool.  Although he needed support our main aim was to build up his core strength and stability. Swimming provided the perfect conditions that would test Mac encouraging him to use his core strength.

We’re now at a point where Mac is close to being back to normal. He’s still attending alternate sessions between swimming and the treadmill every week but we hope he’ll improve more and more and soon be back to his old ways.