A friend sent this photo of a mare for sale, but I am using it to discuss cold water therapy for tendons and ligaments of the legs.
Dogs and horse cooling their tendons in the river
These four dogs and this mare are enjoying the benefits of the river’s cold water. After miles of trail, they completely know how to help themselves. It feels good to cool down your body heat. The heat and inflammation in their legs is getting cooled, naturally.
You can provide cold water for your working dogs – many owners know how much they love to jump in a stock tank, or rest in a puddle after working. My Border Collie, Jack would always end up in water after playing frisbee. The pond, the creek, the irrigation ditch, even a little plastic kiddie pool in the yard. That dog always ended up in water. His breathing slowed, his temp came down, and now I know how important that water was to the health of his legs. Jack never came up lame, and he ran many miles and played hard.
Yesterday a client asked be about ice vs. cold water. I’m a fan of cold water therapy for animals. For myself, I use flex ice packs (see how below). Personally, using ice on an animal who can’t control when it’s removed is not good. If you’ve ever used ice, it gets cold. COLD. If I am using water on a horse’s legs or letting my dog play in the river, they are more apt to put up with it. The benefits of cold water are happening, but I’m not fighting with my animal.
Do this – put your wrists under the cold faucet after every handwashing or dishes washing. End with cold therapy. Thirty seconds, 5-10 times a day can absolutely improve the pain in your hard working hands. You are knocking down the inflammatory process. Our bodies don’t need it once it has done it’s beneficial healing.
Inflammation is a process for healing the body. But the inflammatory process needs to be stopped when we discover it. It creates a cascade of chemical and physiological changes in the body which are very complex. After it tells the brain to send super charged blood to the region, and any body defenses to the area, there needs to be a clean up – and that is accomplished by putting cold where there is heat.
For myself, I use 2-3 minutes on, and 2-3 minutes off. During the off minutes, I simply move the water or flex ice pack to another place. For example, the joint next in line, the tendon ends of the muscle that hurts, and the muscle on the other side of a joint. I just cycle the flex packs around, then come back again to repeat the cycle. This cycling of cold water or ice flex packs (with a washcloth or t-shirt rag against the skin to protect it) creates the constriction of the blood veins. Then when the cold is removed, it allows the body to rush new, fresh, super-charged blood back to the area as the veins dilate.
Repeating the cold cycle again, creates vaso constriction again, and the result of 2 or 3 repeats of the cold cyle, creates a pumping effect. Very healing, according to many doctors and therapists.
Topics On This Page: pet health | dog symptoms | dog health problems oregon | cold water therapy
Cooper plays in the river. Fun and cold therapy for tendons at the same time.
This is Cooper, playing and getting cold water therapy at the same time.