Dog walking is good for you?

There’s nothing more refreshing than taking your dog out for a walk on a sunny day. However, what starts off as some “good for you” gentle exercise can leave you feeling a little sore or even injured. At no other time would you consider completing a dynamic movement such as throwing a ball as far as you can with no warm up and no stretching but when walking your dog, you don’t give it a second thought.

Chiropractor Lizzie Pencherz explains;

“With an energetic terrier I know how hard it can be to keep a dog well behaved by the side of you. When the arm is stretched out in front of you the muscles of the back and shoulder are not as strong as if the arm was to the side of you and slightly bent. As a result when you try to pull the dog back (under control) we put significant pressure on the upper back, shoulder and neck areas. Obviously if all our dogs were perfect little angels we could just get them to walk by the side of us and put less strain on the upper body. As this is not always possible we recommend doing some warm up movements such as circular arm rotations and stretching before you take your dog out for a walk.

Another common complaint I see is dog owners who have thrown the ball and as a result developed acute shoulder and neck pain.  Using a plastic ball thrower can provide greater leverage, reducing the amount of movement needed to throw the ball. I also stress to my patients to remember you are not in an Olympic ball throwing competition, and your dog won’t hold it against you if you throw it a little shorter than usual!”