INTRODUCTION
My name is Val McMillan, I have been involved with dogs throughout my life, my mother used to breed Golden Retrievers and I myself have bred one litter, I enjoy my hobby of attending dog shows with my girls and find massage has a very beneficial effect on her overall well being, as being in peak condition is of the utmost importance when competing. I also run a home boarding facility for dogs, which I find most rewarding and gratifying.
I became a human massage therapist in 1997 and wanted to extend this therapy to dogs so embarked on a Canine Massage Course attaining my qualification as a Canine Massage Therapist after studying at Equissage.
I specialise in sports massage, a discipline of massage therapy that focuses on muscles pertinent to particular physical activities, it utiliises classic Swedish massage as well as techniques that have been developed specifically for their beneficial impact on muscular tissue.
The essential difference between sports massage and other techniques lies in the reaction that the specific strokes used in sports massage have on muscle tissue. That is, when muscles are overworked, over-exercised and generally over-loaded, the tissue will develop adhesions (‘clumps’ of tissue – leading to fibrosis) which restrict the proper shortening and lengthening of the muscle, thereby causing spasm and pain. The strokes used are specifically designed to ‘break-up” these adhesions, so muscles will be restored to their proper function.
