It is reported that Plato said, "Massage must be simple." Passive touch certainly fits that bill. The technique is performed by gently placing both hands on the dog and allowing them to remain motionless. To perform passive touch, place your entire open hand or hands on the spot where heat or tension is present. One or more fingers can be used if the area or the dog is small. Rest your hand there as briefly as 20 to 30 seconds or as long as several minutes without applying pressure and without movement. The heat from your hand will warm the superficial tissues. This promotes blood vessel dilation which increases peripheral circulation and helps relieve pain.
Passive touch can be applied virtually anywhere on the body of a dog as a warming technique to prepare sore or stiff muscles for deeper or more vigorous strokes. When used on the upper arm (Figure 1a), place one hand on the lateral side of the limb. The other hand should always be in contact with the dog. Gently hold this position until the upper arm muscles are warmed. The dog may relax or even heave a sigh as passive touch provides comfort. On the other hand, he will begin to wiggle or give other clues if he is ready for you to release and move to another area. It is important to respect the dog's wishes. You can feel his muscles from the outside. Only he can feel them from the inside of his body.
Passive Touch can also be used on aching or stiff muscles of the upper thigh (Figure 1b). Movements that strain muscles on one side of the dog's limb often affect those on the other side. You can address this problem by doing double duty and using both hands to simultaneously apply passive touch to warm the medial and lateral muscles of the limb. Rest one hand on each surface of the large thigh muscles to relieve the discomfort. Hold the position for one to several minutes. The muscles should be ready for additional work.
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| Figure 1a | Figure 1b |
Figure 1a. Apply passive touch to warm the upper arm by placing one hand on the muscles of the lateral surface of the leg and the other on the medial surface of the limb.
Figure 1b. Place one hand on the lateral surface and the other on the medial surface of the hind limb to warm muscles on both sides of the upper thigh.
C. Sue Furman, Ph.D.
c.suefurman@gmail.com
www.HolisticTouchTherapy.com
This article originally appeared in the February 2013 edition of the Holistic Touch Therapy Newsletter.