A message from your massage therapist

There are an estimated 377.8 millions pets—125 million cats and dogs alone—in the United States. (For those keeping tabs, that’s more than the roughly 290 million people estimated to live here.) And the estimated $31 billion that people spent on their pets in 2003 makes one thing clear—people love to take care of their furry friends

In this month’s issue, freelance writer Amanda Kipp explores another growing area of pet pampering—pet massage. It's something your four-legged friends will surely enjoy!

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By Amanda Kipp

Following the accident, Doofus was left with a relocated hip and two possible roads to recovery: surgery or bed rest, says Bregenzer. “I chose the latter.”

To help Doofus regain strength in his leg, Bregenzer began experimenting with kneading techniques (which he later would learn was effleurage), gradually increasing his range-of-motion and use of passive exercises. While Bregenzer says Doofus’ recovery was not entirely uneventful (he had to relocate the hip twice), “It was completely successful.”

Doofus went on to enjoy four more years of active life.

Upgraded Petting

Several years and more than 2,000 animal massages later, Bregenzer now owns and runs Animal Massage & Therapies (AMTIL), which he founded in 1998. He started out on his career path by learning optissage—massage designed to elicit optimum performance from animal athletes. He also took acupressure classes, reiki and courses on healing touch for animals and animal communication. “As valuable as each of these has been,” says Bregenzer, “I think the most important learning [experiences] have come from the animals.” 

Melanie Bregenzer Bobby, from Save-a-Pet in Grayslake, Illinois, gets a massage from W. Bruce Bregenzer of AMRIL.

“[Animal massage] is upgraded petting, which makes the experience with your pet, and it makes it more interesting for both of you,” says Maryjean Ballner of Dog & Cat Massage Works!, located in the San Francisco Bay area. She has written two books, and produced two videos, one each on canine and feline massage. She says her specialty is “scaredy” cats, though she is also a New York State licensed massage therapist for humans. 

Ballner’s simple techniques are designed for bonding between humans and their pets. “This is not deep muscle manipulation; it’s gentle caressing for people to do with their animals—whether [the animals] are scared, temperamental or friendly family pets. Massage is not random rubbing; it’s purposeful touch,” she says.  

Faye S. Tackett, BS, NCTMB, a nationally certified massage therapist and licensed pet therapy dog handler at the Healing Loft in Belleville, Illinois, agrees that animals much prefer to be massaged by their owners.  

“Unless there is a serious injury needing specific massage techniques or the animal is a rescue needing emotional and or physical support,” Tackett says. “I would rather teach pet owners how to safely massage and care for their own pets.”

Pro Bono

Not all animals are fortunate enough to have owners. Having worked with shelter animals that have been shot, stabbed, run over by cars, hit by trains and rescued from the horrors of dog fighting as well as the ‘ordinary’ abuse victims, Bregenzer says, he has “seen the incredible resiliency and recuperative powers of animals.”

Amanda Kipp Nikita is all smiles as Pamela Kuhn works on her neck at Chicago's Barker & Meowsky, Inc., a "paw " firm.

Yet even for those animals without a history of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment, shelter life can be stressful, Bregenzer says. “Massage helps to ease [these animals’] tension, build self-confidence and enhance trust.”

Jonathan Rudinger, RN, LMT, also spends time at the humane society helping ease the emotional trauma of the dogs. “I’ve had people tell me that by balancing a dog’s emotional stress through massage actually makes them more adoptable,” he says.

“For animals whose history includes abuse, they are often reluctant to allow any touch, initially. But once acceptance is obtained, massage and bodywork can help to break down the ‘touch-equals-pain relationship’ and start restoring their sense of touch as a source of enjoyment,” adds Bregenzer. “It’s rewarding seeing [these animals] transform themselves from cowering, trembling creatures hiding at the backs of their cages or kennels to ones capable of giving and receiving affection.”

Four-Legged Clients

With animals, there is a huge difference in how you approach the client, says Rudinger. “Humans understand that they are getting a massage. They agree to it once, and lay down on the table. With animals, you have to get permission first, and keep asking permission moment to moment through monitoring body language and quality of breathing.”

Avoiding a bad experience with an animal is as simple as being aware of any indications of discontent, whether as obvious as growling or through more subtle demonstrations, Bregenzer adds.

“Often what is okay in the human world is offensive in the animal world,” adds Pat Sweeney, CMT, RMT, of Elgin, Illinois, who is a certified animal massage therapist/practitioner, reiki master teacher and animal reiki master.

“Animals react differently to touch—some become very docile, while others can become very sassy when the blood starts flowing,” says Pamela Kuhn, CAMT, certified animal massage therapist, in Chicago, Illinois. Kuhn says that this is why it is so important that animals relax on their own and not be forced to.

Pat Sweeney works on KD, a Paws with a Purpose client.

Technique

While animal massage hand techniques are similar to that of human massage techniques, Rudinger says that with animals it is more of an inside/out massage. “You are working with rather than on an animal’s body,” he says. “You need to be receptive to how the [animal] ‘leads the dance.’”

Animals do not need trigger point work as deep, Rudinger adds. “There is a lot of assessment work; for each touch you have to sense how the animal responds.”

Animals will guide your hands, says Rudinger, because they have more of a sense of body awareness than humans. “They can sense when a mosquito lands on them; they [also] are aware at what level (tissue deep-wise) your hands are at.”

“Even fingertips feel pointy to them,” says Kuhn, who agrees pressure doesn’t feel good to animals. Moreover, she says that animals don’t forget bad experiences.

“Never place any pressure on an animal’s spine, and never increase or change pressure, just increase the stroke frequency,” says Kuhn. “You don’t need pressure to move the muscles.”

Massage all parts of the anatomy, and go with the technique the animal is most responsive to, she says. “There are so many techniques, so you should never force one.”

Kuhn emphasizes “skin rolling” and the seven-touch techniques, such as “pulling the plow,” where thumbs lift the tissue while kneading skin toward the head. “Plucking” the skin on the back by grasping at the root and lifting straight up, much like you would envision plucking a chicken, is another technique that creates air pockets under the skin that allows for oxygen to get in—a good thing. “Don’t get so hung up on semantics,” Kuhn says, since employing the technique correctly is much more important than remembering its name.

Kuhn recommends that people start out slowly with no more than 10 minutes a day of massage, and to give the massage at a time when the pet is already in a relaxed state.

Two-Legged Clients

Rudinger says it is easy to know what type of clientele is most responsive/receptive to animal massage therapy—owners of dogs that are hurting (i.e., severe hip dysphasia, pinched nerves, arthritis, etc.).

“Rarely do I get calls for animals who are just happy little/big guys their owners just want to treat to a massage,” says Sweeney, who’s clientele at her practice Paws With A Purpose varies from “the smallest dog that just happens to bite when his mouth gets touched certain ways to an 18-hand quarter horse.

“In general, I usually get calls for animals who are in real trouble or who have been diagnosed as terminal … [from] owners who have been working with their vets but know there's something more that needs to be done.”

Bregenzer says his clients come from pet owners who are aware of the benefits of massage, and think of their animal as a family member, recognizing them as an individual with wants, needs, likes and dislikes.

Animal Massage as a Career, Future

Rudinger spent 25 years in the art gallery business in Chicago before deciding to enroll in nursing school, where he says he experienced his first massage. “It changed my life.”

So much so, seven years ago he opened the PetMassageÔ Training and Research Institute in Toledo, Ohio, which has proven to be a successful endeavor, though he advises those venturing out in the field of animal massage to, for now, “keep their day jobs.”

Animal massage is still a brand new field; a large part of its marketing involves educating people on the fact that it has value and is cost-effective, Rudinger says. “Current rates for animal massages can go as little as $1/minute upward to $100 per half-hour session—depending on location.”

“There is a huge potential for animal massage throughout the world to take off in the future,” Rudinger predicts, urging people interested in the field to start now, so that they can help define the direction of animal massage in the future. “One day there will be as many animal massage therapists as groomers and trainers.”

Here, Kuhn works on Gus' ears, which she says "offer mini blueprints of an animal's body."

For some, such as Kuhn, already a full-time animal massage therapist, Rudinger’s predictions have rung true.

“I’ve never had an animal not enjoy a massage, and animals don’t lie,” says Kuhn, who says she has about 10 regular clients she massages weekly, aside from the three days a week she spends at local Chicago pet stores offering her services.

Kuhn always knew that she wanted to work with animals. She started out as a vet technician, where she learned the physiology of animal anatomy, which later helped her pet massage career. “[As a vet tech] I never really had the chance to build and emotional wall with my patients.” Kuhn says. For six years she cried herself to sleep every night. But three years ago that changed when she took her pug, Bennie, to a pet massage therapy class.

Kuhn has been massaging every kind of animal from rabbits and iguanas to cats and dogs ever since. “It’s the best job in the world.”

To further advance this ‘best job’ and others like it, Rudinger currently is in the process of creating a national set of standards for schools and programs that would qualify for International Association of Animal Massage & Bodywork (IAAMB) Certification in both animal massage and acupressure. “Hopefully, by December 2004, this will happen, which will give members more credibility and sense of coming together and supporting each other’s work.”

"The opportunity for animal massage as a profession is open, and I will watch it with interest," Ballner says. “Will people pay for their animal to be massaged? I don’t know. Much will depend on the educational aspects of the therapists and how reasonably they market themselves to consumers. Enough therapists find it difficult for people to pay for massage for people; finding people to pay for their animals to be massage is a smaller niche market," she adds. ”However, look at massage itself—it’s blossomed into a mainstream modality."

“There are an estimated 125 million pet cats and dogs in the United States,” Bregenzer adds, which “represents a huge, and largely untapped, market for massage therapy.”

– Amanda Kipp is a freelance writer based in Chicago. She can be reached at amandamkipp@earthlink.net.

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DID YOU KNOW?

According to animal massage therapists Pam Kuhn, Maryjean Ballner and Jonathan Rudinger, benefits of animal massage include:

•  Improves circulation—which aids a host of things including digestion, enhancing the immune system and balancing of hormones.
• It gets the blood flowing—which allows for nutrients to be brought in faster, and is especially beneficial for animals in agility training.           
• Speeds healing—Similar to humans, animals that receive massages prior to surgery are more receptive to anesthesia and recover from post-op faster; and for animals on medication, massage is particularly important in the even distribution of medicine throughout the body.
• Relieves stress—It’s soothing and therapeutic for you, whether you are the human or animal; it’s hard to maintain a bad attitude when you are quietly massaging an animal.
• Relieves the effects of stiffness and joint discomfort—It relaxes the entire body.  
• Increases flexibility—as well as develops and maintains muscle tone.
• Aids in social development—It helps animals create and maintain a better quality of life. It also enhances your dog’s mind.
• Accelerates bonding—It opens up new avenues for pet/human communication, and empowers owners to help and work with their pets.
   

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MASSAGE THERAPY: Q & A

Q: Can massage really help with my chronic low-back pain?

A: People who get massage for sore muscles and pain have long said that it gives them relief and helps them get back to regular activity. Recent research on the benefits of massage for some types of back pain has shown that massage is effective in both relieving chronic low-back pain and for controlling some back pain.

For further reading, check out these two recent research articles about massage and its positive effect on low back pain:

Cherkin, D.C. , et.al. Randomized trial comparing traditional Chinese medical acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and self-care education for chronic low back pain. Arch Intern Med. 2001 Apr 23;161(8):1081-1088.

Preyde, M. Effectiveness of massage therapy for subacute low-back pain: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ. 2000 Jun 27;162(13):1815-20.

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REFER A FRIEND FOR MASSAGE!

Maybe you've been telling family and friends about the benefits you experience from massage. If they live out of the immediate area, did you know they can use AMTA’s Find a Massage Therapist® national locator service to locate a qualified AMTA Professional-category member anywhere in the United States. This service will direct them to professionals who are well-trained, adhere to a professionally recognized code of ethics and standards of practice, and are committed to continuing their professional education and development. Visit the locator service online today or call toll-free at 888-THE-AMTA [843-2682].

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TABLE TIPS

A Unique Chair Massage...

Use a ball, such as a tennis ball, baseball or one that is similar in size, depending on your preference for their hardness. Sit on this ball while sitting at your desk. Move around on it self-massaging the back of your legs and buttocks. You can also place it between your back and the seat and repeat this process. The end result is a tension relieving self-massage before work, during work or anytime!

For a different massage tip each week, visit AMTA’s Massage Room.

Kevin Duniho

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LEGAL NOTICE: Articles submitted by individual authors are copyrighted by those authors and reprinted with their permission. Views expressed in these articles are not necessarily the views of the American Massage Therapy Association^®, and should in no way be construed as an endorsement. They are for informational purposes only.

© 2005 American Massage Therapy Association^® All rights reserved.