The Leash Effect: PEOPLE edition
Understanding how unexpected pulling on leash affects the health of dogs owners.
It’s an absolute fact that all dogs are perfect angels and are perfectly trained. So I’m probably writing this blog for no one. But on the very rare chance that your dog has ever pulled you (I’m looking at you squirrels, birds, and wild pizza crusts) you might be interested in how that force lands in your body and impacts your health.
Table of contents
The effect of pulling on your body
Anatomy of holding a leash
What parts of your body are impacted by an unexpected pull from your dog?
The basic anatomy involved is our wrists, elbows, and shoulders. As well as all the muscles of your arm. It doesn’t matter whether you hold your dog’s leash by the handle, or you thread your hand through the handle, your arm is still going to feel the impact of a quick tug.
But, we all know holding on to a pulling dog takes more than arm strength! It can be a full body exercise. Your torso and legs are involved too.
A wild fact about our arms is that they are only attached to our body by one tiny joint. There are lots of muscles to help stabilize and move our arms, but only one bony connection; the sternoclavicular joint!
The muscles that move our arms are connected down our back, and up our neck. So our neck will be involved too! You can see that this one motion can really affect your whole body. You need full body resilience to bounce back from an unexpected pull from your dog!
Where the force lands in your body, or where you feel pain will depend on your own body history, and which joints are less able to adapt.
The effect of leash pulling on your body
Working our way from the wrist up let's look at the effects a pull will have on your body.
Wrist
When a sudden force is applied to the wrist, this force can cause a traction on the ligaments and tendons that support the wrist joint. This can lead to strains and muscle fatigue, which might feel like tenderness and stiffness.
Elbow
The elbow is an extremely stable joint. The humerus hooks on to the ulna which makes the articulation between these two bones very stable. What is much less stable is the proximal radioulnar joint. This joint is about a centimeter away from the elbow joint. It is much more vulnerable to injury.
Shoulder
The shoulder is quite unstable so as to give the arm more mobility. Its increased mobility makes it prone to injury. When force lands in the shoulder you can expect muscle, ligament, and tendon damage. This might feel like an unstable joint, pinching around the shoulder, stiffness, limited range of motion, and tenderness.
Clavicle
The clavicle is a completely underrated bone! There are many vital (yes vital as in important for living) structures that pass under the clavicle. The vagus nerve (a superstar in the anatomy world), the brachiocephalic trunk, and the lymphatic thoracic duct. (I’m going to go into more detail about the clavicle in a second)
Neck
The neck is a super delicate structure! So many structures pass from the head to the rest of the body via the neck. And our arteries travel from the heart to the head up our neck! Even though the neck is super delicate, it’s also remarkably resilient.
If force from a sudden pull impacts your neck, you might get headaches, sore muscles, shortness of breath, and even digestive issues.
Ribs
Ribs are pretty sturdy, but if the force from a pull lands here it might feel like tension and stiffness, difficulty breathing, tenderness, shoulder pain, or chest pain. Even though rib dysfunction can feel like chest pain, any chest pain should be checked out by a doctor!
Why is the clavicle so important?
The clavicle is important because it protects your delicate vital structures from external trauma. How our clavicle sits in its joint, and on our ribs is important because of all the structures that pass below it.
Here are a few of the important structures that run under the clavicle, and why they are so important:
Nerves:
Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system. It regulates the heart, breathing, and digestion.
Phrenic Nerve
The phrenic nerve controls the diaphragm and relays information to the brain about the casing surrounding the heart and lungs.
Somatic Nerves
The brachial plexus controls the muscles in the arm, and relays information about the joints in the arm back to the brain.
Arteries and Veins
Subclavian artery and vein
The subclavian artery and vein supply and drain blood from the arm.
Brachiocephalic artery and vein
The brachiocephalic artery and vein (brachio = arm, cephalic = head) supply and drain blood to the right arm and most importantly to the head!
Lymphatics
Thoracic Duct
The thoracic duct returns filtered lymphatic fluid to the heart.
When the clavicle is disrupted we see changes in biomechanics and fascial tension, this has knock on effects throughout the body. Take the vagus nerve, with tension and compression of the fascia surrounding the vagus nerve this could disrupt parasympathetic functions such as heart rate, breathing, and digestion.
What to do if you get injured by a dog pulling on leash?
What should you do if your dog pulls you? The best treatment is prevention, and in this case prevention means training your dog to walk nicely on leash! Or maybe total dog domination over all squirrels.
With leash injuries, personalized treatment is the best. Finding a practitioner who you resonate with, and who can effectively assess your biomechanics will be able to create a treatment plan that is unique to you (and your dog!). I’m biased, so obviously I think finding an osteopathic manual practitioner is the best option!
Our pups can have a significant impact on our physical health. I know I love the joy my dog gets from watching squirrels and birds, but pulling is not good for any of us! A well-trained dog and a knowledgeable approach to handling the leash are key to maintaining a healthy and happy relationship with your dog.
Have questions about a dog related injury?
Shoot me an email or book an appointment!
