Learn to treat a stiff shoulder in dogs with these techniques!

As a dog owner, you may have experienced periods where your dog seems stiff and sore in the shoulder area. Perhaps not all exercises during training are as effective as before, or your dog takes shorter steps, or you simply feel that something is not quite right.

After all, the dog carries 60% of its body weight on the front part, so the shoulder joint is susceptible to injuries and overloading. Especially sled dogs can often develop tension in the shoulder area.

Most joints in the body have ligaments that support the joint on each side, but the shoulder joint lacks these ligaments. The joint capsule has ligaments inside that reinforce the joint internally, but it lacks external ligament reinforcement. This makes the shoulder joint more unstable than many other joints and entirely dependent on strong surrounding muscles to be stable.

The shoulder joint is formed between the upper part of the upper arm and the lower part of the shoulder blade. It is a ball-and-socket joint, capable of moving in various directions.

So, what stabilizes the shoulder joint? The tendons of the muscles surrounding the joint, specifically three muscles: Subscapularis stabilizes the inside of the joint, infraspinatus stabilizes the outside, and biceps brachii stabilizes the front. Below, we see an image of the shoulder joint and the infraspinatus muscle:

Here, we see the attachment tendon of the infraspinatus attaching to the upper arm bone (humerus) and stabilizing the outside of the shoulder joint.

Now, we can imagine that if these muscles were weak and untrained, or very tight, they would stabilize the shoulder joint poorly.

Dogs also lack a collarbone - so the entire front leg of the dog is attached to the body via muscles and soft tissue. If the muscles here become stiff, sore, and full of waste products, it is clear that the dog will have problems in its shoulder joint.

This is where massage comes in!

By massaging, we help the muscles stay strong and elastic. Massage stimulates local circulation, and the body is assisted in removing waste products from the tissue. Of course, massage should be combined with exercise to strengthen the muscles.

Here, we will provide you with some specific massage techniques that you can perform on your dog to keep the muscles around the shoulder joint soft and flexible.

Strokes: This technique has a calming effect on the whole body and is used before starting the massage. Ensure relaxed hands, with the entire palm against the dog. Hands should glide over the skin without applying pressure to the muscles. Stroke gently from the neck downward along the shoulder, around the entire shoulder blade, and in the area around the shoulder joint.

Circles: Circles move across the muscle fibers, helping to stretch them. When the dog has tension in the muscles, the muscle fibers can stick together. Using this technique, you loosen this sticking while spreading circulation in the tissue. Use the fingertips of 2-5 fingers, depending on the area you are working on, and perform circular movements at a gentle pace. Use circles around the shoulder joint, imagining where the attachment of the muscles around the joint is. If the area feels tense, you can spend some extra time on circles here.

Muscle Squeezing: This technique is good to use on the muscles located below and in front of the shoulder joint, as well as the chest muscles. Use one or two hands, grasp around the muscle, and squeeze gently. If the dog shows signs of pain, pause and instead use the previously explained techniques to warm up and soften even more. For example, if it's cold outside, muscle squeezing is useful to warm up the muscles. The grip is relaxing and effective for eliminating accumulations of waste products in the tissue.

I hope this was useful knowledge for you and your dog!