From a support tool during the Agility World Championships to an effective partner in daily outpatient practice, MLS® does not spare itself and stands by veterinarians in resolving diseases ranging from the orthopaedic field to the dermatological and the neurological ones.
During the “2024 IFCS World Agility Championship” (30 April – 5 May, Bourgbarre, France), MLS® gave its best: says Francesca Bussi, Veterinary Doctor Physiatrist of the National Team and Medical Director of Qua la zampa (Moncalieri-TO). A story, hers, which is a clear example of “sliding doors”.
After starting with physical medicine and rehabilitation, treating Police dogs and rescue dogs, - thanks to a dog-loving event – Francesca was "struck by the flexibility and fluidity with which some dogs involved in an agility competition tackled the different obstacles on the course”.
A love at first sight that leads her to wanting to find out a bit more.
“I began attending agility camps and filming the different dogs to understand not only their movements and dynamics, but also what variables were at play. The goal was to be able to develop programs that were truly functional to the needs of each athlete. In fact, an agility dog can do truly a lot of work and this can go in many directions. You can, for example, start from improving performance through the right athletic preparation, to then also reach post-trauma rehabilitation interventions", says the Veterinary.
Her initial passion quickly becomes a drive for a more structured professional decision, which leads her to join the FISC (Italian Dog Sports Federation) team. A decision that came about thanks to a colleague and athlete who used to take her dog to her to prepare for competitions.
“I have been following the FISC Agility National Team for 8 years and the emotions are always very strong. A love that never fades, but which, on the contrary, always finds new impetus, thanks to the explosion that dog sports have had in recent years”.
This boom has had objective repercussions on the preparation and training methods of the animals which, due to increasingly difficult and numerous competitions, now have to deal with frequent physical problems.
Francesca, an excess of preparation may not be in the dog's favour. What are the problems that 4-legged athletes have to face during the training phase?
Since the competitions now have very tight schedules and are very difficult, handlers tend to train their dogs more, sometimes skipping fundamental stages to encourage better preparation. In addition to physiological muscle fatigue, this "over training" can also generate varying degrees of traumas. However, we must remember that excesses never pay if the goal is to achieve valuable results. In fact, to obtain a trained, prepared and healthy dog, you need good athletic preparation, suitable nutrition and periodic checks with a Veterinary Doctor who deals with Sports Medicine.
Are there any diseases that affect these dogs more than others?An athlete can be the victim of many problems: those that are most frequently encountered involve the muscles, tendons and ligaments, especially of the shoulder and knee. Much more serious and disabling injuries also occur, such as fractures or herniated discs. Many of these issues, however, could be avoided by following a good athletic preparation, subjecting the dog to periodic checks with the physiatrist and ensuring breaks during the year to avoid over training.
How can we concretely intervene to support a dog who is the victim of over training or trauma?The choice of intervention can never be univocal but must take into account a series of variables. For this reason, based on the type of injury, I choose which type of physical medicine and rehabilitation protocol to adopt so that it can provide effective and functional responses to the dog's condition. Normally, each of these protocols consists of two phases: the first targets rehabilitation and aims to assist tissue healing, while the second is focused on athletic rehabilitation to bring the dog back to competing.
Let's start from the first phase: what methods and tools do you use to achieve the goal?These are different and targeted ones. I am thinking, for example, of specific therapeutic exercises, massages, hydrotherapy and laser. For example, thanks to its variety of treatments MLS® Laser Therapy has proved to be extremely valuable in treating various pathologies in very short times. MLS® is an aid not only during the preparation phase for the competition, but also during the post-competition period, promoting the recovery of the muscle sector. In fact, I often find trigger points or even muscle contractures which I can resolve almost immediately with this technology.
MLS® Laser Therapy crucial at the Agility World Championships
A concrete help especially if the athletes are involved in competitions of excellence such as, for example, the Agility World Championships. Over the last few years, has MLS® Laser Therapy helped?In this edition, in particular, MLS® was providential particularly for some muscular and ligament problems that I encountered in some animals. The IFCS World Championship, in fact, is an international competition which, although beautiful, is extremely tiring for the handlers, but above all for the dogs. The athletes must in fact carry out two laps a day for 5 days, very often after a long journey and in a context that involves the presence of around 300 4-legged competitors. Not child's play in a nutshell!
The cases of Jedy, a Pyrenean sheepdog suffering from dermatitis between the interdigital spaces, and of Bruce are a clear example of this.
On the third day of the world championship, Jedy began to limp on one hind leg and her dermatitis was also showing signs of getting worse due to the particularly high humidity and the sandy ground where the dogs trained. Two MLS® Laser Therapy treatments with the specific dermatology program were enough to reverse the trend and see an immediate improvement.
A quick result also for Bruce who, at the end of one of the laps scheduled for the competition, was greatly slowed down.
Muscle fatigue in this competition is very common and Bruce also had to deal with it. In his case, a bad inflammation of the iliopsoas and of the triggers of the semimembranosus muscle contributed to worsening his performance. A treatment with MLS® aided by manual therapy put Bruce back on track, allowing him to win!
Then there is the case of Desy, a white poodle who often suffers from stress colitis…A disease that caused a strong contraction of her abdomen and episodes of diarrhoea. To help her, she first underwent an MLS® Laser Therapy treatment using laser puncture and, subsequently, a relaxing massage. Results? The inflammation resolved, all the core muscles relaxed, the diarrhoea went away and the dog started competing again. All without any type of hassle and totally safely. In fact, the use of the handpiece with the laser puncture guide is non-invasive and does not generate annoying heat or any other unpleasant feeling. But not just that: the treatment programs are extremely fast, which makes the therapy suitable for even the most fearful and impatient animals.
MLS® in daily practice
It's a short step from the World Agility Championships to daily practice: leading off from your outpatient experience, do you remember any cases in which the use of MLS® contributed to resolving an issue?
Given that I have a physiotherapy centre, Laser Therapy is among the solutions I use most in my daily practice, the cases I could cite are truly many. I am thinking, for example, of Black, a 12-year-old German shepherd weighing 55 kg, whose hindquarters were paralysed due to a suspected lumbar disc herniation. Several arthritic joints also complicated the situation. We intervened by carrying out MLS® sessions daily for a week which led the dog to progressively move its limbs and, 12 days later, to become independent again. A CT scan confirmed the diagnosis of a lumbar hernia and two small protrusions. The dog recovered completely exclusively thanks to treatments with MLS® Laser Therapy, which, on Black, also proved effective in the dermatological field. When the patient showed up at the clinic, the skin on his belly was macerated by urine: two treatments with MLS® were enough for the skin return to normal.
Can we conclude that MLS® Laser Therapy fully shows its effectiveness in the dermatological and orthopaedic fields?My experience has confirmed this for me. Its positive contribution is also evident in solving other problems: I am thinking of a law enforcement dog which, due to the removal of a cyst in the gluteal area, had a large sore. Despite various pharmacological therapies, this painful problem showed no signs of healing. In this case too, MLS®, applied with the M-VET device, made the difference and the wound closed in a more than reasonable time.
An excellent result for the dog and a concrete help also for the Vet’s activity.
The use of this treatment certainly also makes my work easier, as it allows me to speed up the sessions: the application programs, which are very rapid but effective, provide certain benefits to the patients and satisfaction to the owners. The therapy has also another merit: MLS® has in fact allowed me to broaden my catchment area, making it possible to treat many dermatological diseases.
