Individual care · Veterinary consent
Trigger points
Tight, irritable spots within a muscle that can refer pain elsewhere in the body.
What it is
A trigger point is a small, hyper-irritable spot within a taut band of muscle. They are tender in themselves, and they characteristically refer pain to somewhere else — which is why the place a dog is sore is not always the place the problem sits. They form after injury, overuse, or sustained compensation, and can persist long after whatever caused them.
What you might notice
- Flinching, turning or moving away when a specific spot is touched
- Lameness or restriction with no clear cause at the painful joint
- A change in behaviour, mood or tolerance of handling
- Twitching of the skin over an area
- Discomfort that seems to move around
These are things owners commonly describe. They are not a diagnosis, and several of them overlap with other conditions — only your vet can tell you what is actually going on.
How massage may help
Trigger points are one of the clearest cases for massage, because they are a soft tissue problem with a soft tissue answer. Shanice’s training with the Canine Massage Therapy Centre included the Lenton Method, developed specifically for identifying and releasing them in dogs. Veterinary consent is still required first, so that anything needing veterinary attention is picked up rather than assumed to be muscular.
Talk to Shanice about your dog
A diagnosis is only one part of the story. Two dogs with the same condition can need quite different care, depending on their age, temperament, routine and what they love doing. Share your dog’s veterinary history when you enquire and Shanice will talk through whether massage is appropriate for them.
Treatment complements your dog’s veterinary care, takes place in your own home, and requires signed veterinary consent.
Enquire about a session