How stress impacts how dogs and horses move:

As a vet physio, I see it all the time: mental stress turning into physical pain. Tense shoulders and locked up backs

When the nervous system triggers a fight-or-flight response, a physical domino effect can occur:

• Hormones and muscle guarding: Stress increases levels of the primary stress hormone, cortisol. Without intervention, long term elevated cortisol keeps the axial skeleton, neck/shoulders in constant contraction. Research shows that therapeutic touch and massage directly lower systemic cortisol levels while boosting feel-good chemical messengers like serotonin and oxytocin

Altered Biomechanics: Tension leads to shorter strides, uneven weight-bearing, muscular tension and compensation, this can lead to secondary joint stiffness and soft tissue injuries.

Pain Behaviour Loop: Pain creates anxiety, and anxiety creates pain. Breaking this physical-emotional cycle is the key to long-term rehabilitation.

Physiotherapy offers manual techniques which actively down-regulate the nervous system. Studies confirm massage therapy significantly drops salivary cortisol levels and reduces conflict behaviours.

One of my absolute favourite things as a veterinary physiotherapist is seeing the small breakthroughs of my regular clients with a previously “chronically stressed horses” be able to enjoy time with their owner again makes it all worth it!

Things as simple as picking up a hoof used to send one of my equine clients over the edge into a fight or flight cascade of rearing, biting, fidgeting. Now she comfortably holds her hoof to be picked out and for the farrier.