Eases muscle tension
Reduces the muscle tension and discomfort caused by arthritis or old injuries.
Senior dogs
Helping your dog through their older years.
Myotherapy and Class IV Laser Therapy work beautifully together to ease the stiffness, aches and muscle loss that come with age — keeping your old friend comfortable, steady and enjoying life.
Better together
These two treatments are often used side by side, helping to manage the mobility problems, arthritis, muscle loss and recovery from injury or surgery that come with getting older.
One works with the muscles by hand; the other works deeper into the joints and tissues with light. Used together, they tend to achieve more than either would alone.
Being honest with you
Neither is a cure for arthritis or ageing — but both aim to improve your dog's comfort and quality of life.
Galen Myotherapy
How hands-on work helps an older dog.
Improves mobility
Better movement and flexibility through targeted hands-on techniques and exercises.
Maintains muscle mass
Muscle naturally declines with age, and that loss forces other muscle groups to overcompensate.
Spots compensation early
Identifies compensatory movement patterns before they put extra strain on other joints.
Supports balance
Builds balance and confidence, especially in dogs becoming stiff or unsteady on their feet.
Why muscles matter, even when it's a joint
One sore hip becomes three sore places.
This is the pattern we see again and again in older dogs:
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Arthritis in one hip
A single painful joint is where it starts — often on just one side.
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Weight shifts across
Your dog quietly moves their weight onto the opposite side to avoid the discomfort.
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New pain appears
Over time that creates muscle pain in the back, the shoulders, or the other hind leg.
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We treat both
Myotherapy addresses these secondary problems as well as the original one.
This is the heart of it. A joint problem never stays a joint problem for long — the whole body adapts around it. Treating only the sore hip leaves the knock-on aches untouched, which is why hands-on muscle work matters so much alongside your vet's care.
Class IV Laser Therapy
How healing light helps.
Reduces pain
Helps relieve the pain associated with arthritis and chronic joint disease.
Calms inflammation
Decreases inflammation in the joints and the tissues surrounding them.
Improves circulation
Increases blood flow to the affected areas, supporting the body's own repair.
Relieves spasm
Reduces muscle spasms and the stiffness that comes with them.
Supports healing
Aids the healing of soft tissues and any surgical sites.
The difference it makes
What owners often tell us.
More energy about the house
Rising from their bed more easily
More willing to walk and play with other dogs
Less stiffness after exercise
Climbing the stairs more comfortably
A real example. Bonnie is a 9½-year-old greyhound with suspected arthritis and stiffness in her legs. Her owner Sue's words are on our homepage — read Sue's review.
Working with your vet. This page is for general information and isn't a diagnosis. If your dog is slowing down, do mention it to your vet — ageing is not automatically "just old age", and it's worth ruling out anything treatable. We can work alongside your vet if required, and our therapies complement veterinary care rather than replacing it.
Where this is offered. Older dogs settle far better at home than anywhere else, and that is where I work — across the coast from Estepona through La Duquesa to Sotogrande, with travel within 15 km of La Duquesa included in the price.
Common questions
Older dogs, briefly answered.
Can myotherapy and laser therapy help an older dog?
They are often used side by side to help manage the mobility problems, arthritis, muscle loss and recovery from injury or surgery that come with getting older. One works with the muscles by hand, the other works deeper into the joints and tissues with light.
Is this a cure for arthritis or ageing?
No, and it is worth being plain about that. Neither therapy cures arthritis or ageing. Both aim to improve your dog's comfort and quality of life, which for an older dog is usually the thing that matters most.
Why do muscles matter if the problem is a joint?
Because one sore joint rarely stays one problem. A dog with arthritis in one hip quietly shifts their weight to the other side to avoid the discomfort, and the muscle groups taking that extra load become sore in turn. Hands-on work catches that compensation early.
Is my dog too old for treatment?
Age itself is not a barrier — treatment is choice-led and happens at your dog's own pace, on their own bed, in their own home. If your dog declines to take part on a given day, that decision is respected and the session ends there.
Is your old friend slowing down?
Let's make them more comfortable. Book a consultation and we'll talk through what would help most — gently, and always at your dog's own pace.
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