As dogs get older, the joints don’t tend to work as well, and they get stiffer, so the muscles tend to spasm around the joints, creating more pain in this region. Massage and muscle work will drastically reduce the stiffness and pain levels in the older, more arthritic dogs. Massage can also be performed in the underwater treadmill, so that the relaxation and being surrounded by the warm water of the tank, has a deeper and more profound effect on the body. 

 

As part of injury rehabilitation, massage will really help speed up the healing cascade, reducing muscle spasms, pain from the muscle regions and generally release endorphins (feel good hormones), that will aid the healing process. The chronic injuries will also have elements of chronic shortening of the specific muscles, altering a movement pattern and not allowing full range of motion. Massage is really great in these circumstances, a couple of sessions can really change the chronicity of a problem, and speed up the overall recovery times.