Maintenance massage is a session planned specifically for your healthy pet. It is intended to address muscle tension such as hypotonic (weak/squishy muscles) and hypertonic (tight/stiff muscles). It is an excellent choice for puppies all the way through senior dogs. Some of the physiological benefits are: improving oxygen supply to the cells; improving elimination of metabolic waste; helping relax the intestinal muscles; stimulating kidney and liver function; improving appetite; improving range of motion of the joints; depending on the tonicity of the muscles, relaxing or stimulating muscles to relieve soreness, stiffness, and weakness; stimulating motor nerves; helping to relieve pain; helping to relieve sleep issues and restlessness; helping a timid dog become more relaxed; improving breathing; helping drain stagnant lymph nodes; removing dead skin cells and shedding hair (immune support) to encourage new cell growth, which in turn improves their coat; and improving the skeletal alignment by relaxing tight muscles that are pulling on their bony attachments. 

There are so many other benefits to maintenance massage! Many times massage plans begin as rehabilitation massage and graduate to maintenance. Typically a maintenance massage is 1-2 times a month.

 Many pet insurance companies accept my services.

The main objective to rehab massage is to stimulate the body’s immune response to encourage healing and provide comfort. My goal is to influence and aid in the natural healing process or compliment a veterinarian’s treatment plan. Some but not all benefits are: stimulating local circulation, decreasing local inflammation, aiding in healthy scar tissue formation, remodeling old/weak scar tissue, releasing stubborn adhesions, and so much more. A few techniques that I have been certified for are: Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD), Sunburst technique (to help with local swelling) and full body circulation massage.

Candidates for rehabilitation massage are: animals who are weakened due to illness or injury, hospitalized pets, animals with nutritional issues, shelter animals, animals that are on strict rest, and many other reasons. Sometimes an animal just might need a mini rehab massage to improve circulation, depression, and help with boredom when they are confined due to strict rest.

Typically rehabilitation massages are planned every 3-5 days or 1 time a week for a set time then we will reassess our plan.

I completely understand how important it is to work with my clients and their budgets. I offer shorter sessions with this in mind. From the moment I place my hands on your pet, changes at the cellular level begin. So please don’t worry it’s not enough, because IT IS. Yes, in a longer session I can address much more but I can still do so much in 30 minutes or less.