Have
you noticed a decrease or change in your horse's performance? Has
his personality shifted in some way? These may be indications that
your horse is experiencing pain. Particularly if your horse has
suffered a prior injury and is now demonstrating one or more of
these telltale signs, your horse may be suffering what is known as
stress-tension-pain syndrome.
This
particular kind of pain may arise from repetitive work, injuries, or
a whole variety of other causes. When a horse suffers physical
trauma, however mild, a great deal of residual pain can linger, or a
future recurrence of pain can be easily triggered. This article will
explain some of the reasons horses suffer recurring pain, and it
will offer some suggestions for relief.
In my first
few years of fieldwork, I developed my own techniques of body work,
which appeared to have obvious positive physical effects. At that
time, I did not clearly understand the physiological responses that
caused painful muscles or why my techniques seemed to help. It was
through in-depth education that some of my questions about the
nature of pain and how to relieve it effectively were answered. I
have gathered together a great deal of information from classes,
books and lectures. In fact, so much information exists on the topic
that it is difficult to whittle it down to a condensed article, and
the subject is complex and difficult to comprehend. But between the
theories I have studied and the experience and effects I have
witnessed, I hope to cast light on some of the basic principles of
pain and relief.
Simply said,
excessive stress placed on soft tissue creates tension, which may
result in stress-tension-pain syndrome. The results are muscle
tightness, which creates ischemia, or inadequate circulatory flow
caused by constriction of the local blood vessels. The term "Ischemia"
simply defined is a blood oxygen deficiency. When the local blood
vessels are constricted, then there lacks the circulation for the
transportation of nourishment for the integrity to the living cells
along with restriction of the transportation of metabolic waste
accumulation out of the affected tissue. Normally, these wastes are
removed with proper circulation, but when the cycle of stress is
established, the wastes may not be removed through natural
processes. This causes irritation of the sensory nerve fibers receptors which intensifies their sensory output. Sensory receptors
when stimulated create impulses that travel into the central nervous
system to the brain to be processed and interpreted. This sensory
overload can cause or increase the motor responses of the affected
muscles and cause further contraction within the muscle tissue.
What's worse, the syndrome can set off a reaction and involve whole
painful muscle groups.
Because this
self-perpetuating cycle affects muscle contraction, waste build-up,
and sensory receptor overload, the brain recognizes these symptoms
as a threat. In response, the brain may generate an additional
experience of pain, which further contributes to the cycle. There
also is another characteristic that may occur, and that is referred
pain.
This referred
pain seems to be related with common nerve pathways that carry
sensory impulses through and from injured tissue. In addition, the
body may respond to the pain much as we do when we limp to protect a
sore leg, throwing the body out of proper alignment and causing
structural imbalances that can result in additional pain or further
injury.
Such
imbalances will occur. I have frequently seen horses that have pain
in one side of their hind end who then compensate and wind up with
additional mechanical problems or pain in the shoulder region on the
other side. Conversely, if you detect a shoulder issue, it might
actually reflect pain in the diagonal hind end. An extreme example
of imbalance could involve the rupturing of a digital tendon in one
leg due to compensation for an injured suspensory ligament in the
other one.
Another
explanation of how pain is induced is neurophysiological laws. A
"Law" defined = uniform or constant force or principle.
The debilitating effects of stress-tension-pain syndrome reflects a
basic law of physiology, called the Arndt-Schultz Law...
It states:
Weak stimuli activate physiological change processes; very strong
stimuli inhibit them. It is important to remember that all tense
muscles are susceptible to stress reaction and pain. If the tension
continues, and the syndrome of stress-tension pain has begun,
residual pain will often remain.
Now there is
the Law of Facilitation. The Law of Facilitation particularly
affects the horse. This law states when an impulse has passed once
through a certain set of neurons to the exclusion of others, it will
tend to take the same course. This means that once the pain has
speeded its way through a specific neurological pathway, it can
recur along this route more easily a second, third or fourth time.
In simple terms, additional pain can occur from the slightest
stress. This law fascinates me because it provides an answer to why
a horse's nervous response system reacts as it does, and how my
hands-on work can reverse this law and shut down the pathway of
pain. In my work, I have found that horses have a more sensitive
nervous response system than we humans have. An area that is
extremely susceptible to an exaggerated response with the lightest
of touch is along the top line of the back, including the saddle
area. This sensitive line runs from the lumbar region to the wither
area.
When I first
started working on horses in 1995, my training had been limited to
basic sports massage. In sports massage, strong compressive strokes
are often utilized to soften muscle tissue. I found that I often
encountered horses with much discomfort and painful reactions in
their top-line, and noticed that anything more than the lightest
touch would stimulate a reaction from the horse. I realized right
away that even the most gentle sports massage stroke was not going
to do the trick. Given their reaction, the most I could do was
lightly hold areas along the top line of the back, and even this
lightest touch would cause the muscles to actively contract. With
these reactions, I devised a method of activating points along this
area with one hand, while holding my other hand over the area that
was actively contracting. Often, my fingers would gently start this
action, and the muscles a foot or more away from my hand would
continue in spasm. I noticed that the horse would not necessarily
seem to be experiencing pain, but the action of my hand would seem
to trigger an involuntary, neurological reaction. Of course, if I
did apply additional pressure, the horse would experience noticeable
discomfort.
This
phenomenon of excessive muscle reactions is something I refer to as
a hyperactive neurological response, and it illustrates the Law of
Facilitation. To reverse this law, or assist in diminishing the
well-travelled line of pain, I gently hold points along the areas
described until the response dissipates or subsides altogether. It's
almost as though I am giving the response a different message,
saying to it, "Hey, you do not have react like this
anymore." The response simply burns itself out. It seems in
this way I confuse, and therefore change, the neurological response.
After one area is worked on, I move to the next area there seems to
be reactions. In extreme cases, I ask the owner not to disturb those
areas I have work on. It's a good idea to allow those areas to rest
at least overnight without any stimulus whatsoever.
In the work I
do today, I often use this technique the same way I did when I first
developed it, but I often preface it with gentle myofascial releases
beforehand. In the August issue I touched on this modality. I also
may have the horse handler participate in the process of calming the
affected areas by asking him or her to gently place their hands on
areas alongside the areas of spasm, or I may have them incorporate
gentle belly lifts while I work.
The results of
this work has held me in awe since I first began doing it. I have
worked on some horses suffering extreme pain along their backs.
Often one visit will alleviate the negative reactions. Sometimes it
may be several times or longer until there is a noticeable positive
change from the hyper responses of areas of tension. Recognizing
variables that contribute are also a detrimental factor.
It is of
utmost importance that when a horse is exhibiting pain, the cause of
that pain is determined. In cases of mild pain, the answer may be in
the saddle fit, change of tack, type of training, footing, recent
injuries, improper farrier work, the rider's position and more. The
less obvious and more surprising reasons might be dental issues, a
reaction to residual laundry detergent, rain scold, or a too-heavy
ill fitting winter blanket.
With these
thoughts of prevention in mind, you might consider the variables
that could affect your horse's health. If just a single person
becomes more aware of the conditions that affect a horse's
well-being, then all the time and effort of my research and
experimentation have been worthwhile.
