Fit female 10 year old X-chow.
In February she had surgery to repair her right cruciate ligament (knee ligament). She initially had treatment and was progressing well.
In May she started limping and was reluctant to walk more than 20 mins (had previously been walking almost an hour). Cushla was also not weight bearing on her right hind. We massaged her back and hip, mobilized her spine, worked on strengthening the muscles in her leg, gave acupuncture for pain control and circulation, shortened her walks, all this with very little change in her condition.
The vet confirmed that Cushla’s knee had healed well, so knee pain was unlikely to be the problem. I found painful areas in her lower back, groin and right thigh (trigger spots). Treatment then was aimed at getting rid of these trigger spots by sustained pressure and stretching.
This technique did the trick: Cushla was less stiff, taking weight fully on her right hind, could walk more than 30 mins without becoming lame; also, her owners said that she was jumping up on the bed, something she had not done in a long time!