Chiropractic Vs Bodywork for Horses
“The chiropractor said s/he felt fine…” - I’ve heard it a thousand times from clients. I’ll tell them what I found during a session and they’re confused because the chiropractor was out recently and said the horse felt fine. But the truth is: chiropractic adjustments and bodywork are two very different things!
Chiropractic for horses:
Equine chiropractors are mainly manipulating the joints within the body. Their focus is to improve range of motion and flexibility throughout the musculoskeletal system using controlled force and specific joint manipulations to improve function and alignment. We often hear people claim that their horse “was out at the poll” or “had a rib out” or whatever the case, but what it actually means to be “out” at a joint or junction is that the proper function or mobility is lacking. The goal of chiropractic adjustments is restoring proper range of motion to the joints throughout the spine and body. The skeleton and joints play a major role in the communication pathways of the horse’s nervous system - so addressing any dysfunction or restriction will not only improve range of motion of the joint, but the entire brain-body connection. Addressing the joints and skeletal system will improve the brain/body connection, overall symmetry, range of motion, flexibility, and even mood!
Bodywork for horses:
Bodywork focuses on the soft tissue of the horses. While bodyworkers and chiropractors share the same goals of restoring/improving ROM and symmetry, improving biomechanics, and optimizing performance/recovery - their approaches are different. Bodyworkers manipulate soft tissue, muscles, fascia, and target the nervous system during sessions. Through massage, acupressure, stretches, mobilizations, application of tools (like red light, k tape, etc.), and other soft tissue techniques, bodyworkers are aiming to get the muscles, fascia, and nervous system to an optimal place. Just like the skeleton and joints do, the soft tissues of the body have an interdependent relationship with the nervous system. This means that any tension, restriction, adhesions, etc. will directly affect the ability of the neural pathways to communicate with the brain. Addressing soft tissues and fascia will improve the brain/body connection, overall symmetry, range of motion, flexibility, and even mood!
How do these two affect one another? If you read all the way down here, you’re sure to have seen some similarities! I do believe that chiropractic and bodywork go hand-in-hand. And I’ve been told by every chiropractor I share clients with that “my horses who get routine bodywork are so much better to work with” and “the bodywork makes my job so much easier!” But why? The joints and skeletal system are DIRECTLY affected by the soft tissues of the body. Tight muscles and fascia WILL strain joints, reduce range of motion, reduce mobility overall, and can even cause that misalignment that chiropractors are working to treat. On the other hand, restrictions in a joint WILL lead to tension in the muscles and fascia, reduced range of motion, poor mobility, and compensation.
What does maintenance look like for chiropractic and bodywork? These two often differ a bit in their schedule. Barring underlying issues that need frequent sessions to work through, once you get to a maintenance phase with chiro and bodywork, it will vary depending on workload, physical health, and lifestyle. Generally, what I see with my competition horses is 4-8 week chiropractic schedules, and 2-4 week bodywork schedules. Chiropractic is usually able to be stretched further when joint health is addressed properly, workload and lifestyle are appropriate, and bodywork is done routinely to manage soft tissue. Bodywork at more frequent intervals will support that prolonged chiropractic schedule for a well-maintained, healthy horse.
Why might a chiropractor find a restriction a bodyworker didn’t also find? (or vice versa) Maybe your chiropractor said your horse was restricted in the SI, but your bodyworker said they felt lots of tension around the shoulder and chest. You might be thinking “okay one of these people is wrong, and it’s probably not the DVM…” But, hear me out! They go hand-in-hand. If a horse has an SI restriction, the muscles may not immediately jump to overly tense around the SI, but rather, the horse compensates by overloading the forehand more to take pressure off of the SI (as a compensation) which leads to tighter muscles around the shoulder and chest! Different findings doesn’t necessarily mean that one pro is wrong, but usually that the compensation is effective!
Common ground between equine chiropractic and bodywork:
Non-invasive manual therapies
Can improve biomechanics
Can improve symmetry
Can improve range of motion
Can reduce stiffness
Can break the pain cycle
Can improve flexibility and mobility
Address compensatory patterns
While not every horse who gets bodywork needs chiropractic, I do find that every horse who gets chiropractic, needs bodywork! Sometimes the compensations or lack of mobility have gone on for so long that an issue that started in the soft tissue has finally affected the joints. Not every soft tissue issue is actively affecting the joints, but if left untreated, it will! I love when my clients seek out a chiropractor and keep them on a routine schedule, even if it’s very stretched-out, as having a baseline for that horse with a chiropractor will help you if anything does start to feel “off” and you need an evaluation!