Understanding Compensations in Pets
When one problem causes another
Our pets are amazing at adapting. When something hurts, gets stiff, or weakens they often find clever ways to keep moving- shifting weight, tightening other muscles, or even changing how they move to make things easier.
These small adjustments may not seem like a big deal at first….but over time, they can create a ripple effect throughout the body. This is called compensation, and it’s one of the most common things we see with pets (and humans) in rehab. These adaptive movement patterns can become habit and cause overwork in areas that weren’t meant to carry that extra job resulting in pain or even secondary injuries!
The Body’s Smart-and Sneaky-Adaptations
When one part of the body hurts, loses flexibility, or weakens overall another area steps in to help get the job done. For example:
A dog with a CCL injury may shift more weight to the front legs to help with getting up
A pet with hip arthritis may move stiffly or hunch their back to avoid using the hip during walking
Another dog with a weak core may develop tension in the neck, shoulders, or lower back because they are over using these areas to help make movement and play easier
While all these changes may help your pet stay mobile, at first, over time that extra workload can lead to increased soreness, imbalance, or even new injuries!
Common Signs of Compensations
Some clues are easy to miss because they look subtle or even unrelated. You might notice your pet:
Walking “unevenly” or looks like weird steps
Showing signs of new soreness, especially opposite an area of a known or previous injury
Shifting weight, sitting off to one side, or tucking their tail
Loosing muscle tone in one area but looks overdeveloped in another
Acting “off” even when the old injury seems “healed”
A “new” injury or area of concerns pops up
These are just a few signs the body is telling us it is trying hard to help-but needs a reset!
How Rehab Helps Restore Balance
At Aligned Rehab and Fitness, LLC we start to address compensations by assessing the body as a whole system vs just a single body part or injury. We perform a thorough evaluation to assess and identify areas where tension and weakness may be hiding. The overall goal is to ultimately not only find the root cause of issues, but also help restore symmetry so every joint and muscle shares the work as evenly as possible. This will ultimately help pets move more freely, feel more comfortable, and reduce the chance of future injuries!
Compensations aren’t failures—-it’s they body’s way of saying “I’m doing my best and trying to keep up!”. With guided rehab, that effort can transform from strain to strength.
Contact us to book a consultation or learn more about how physical therapy can make all the difference for your dog’s mobility.
Because your pet deserves comfort, connection, and a body that supports the beautiful life they’re here to live!
