From Shoulder Injury to Agility: Venom’s Rehab, Setbacks and Return to Sport | Part 2

In Part 2 of Venom’s story, Jana Gams, Dr Sherman Canapp and Venom’s owner and handler, Chiara, continue from diagnosis into treatment, shoulder hobbles, rehabilitation, setbacks and the long road back to agility. So what really happens after a medial shoulder injury is diagnosed and how do you rebuild an agility dog for the demands of sport? Chiara shares what the early recovery period actually looked like at home, managing a high-drive dog in shoulder hobbles, adapting the environment, learning what was normal and getting through the days when progress felt incredibly small. Sherman explains the treatment decisions and why healing tissues still need time, protection and appropriate loading. Jana then takes us through Venom’s rehabilitation from early mobility and isometric work during the restricted phase to rebuilding whole body strength, shoulder control, multidirectional stability, speed, jumping and eventually agility specific movements. And the road back was not perfectly straight. When Venom experienced a setback as more demanding work was introduced, the team adjusted the load, returned to what he could tolerate and progressed again. The setback became information rather than automatically meaning that rehabilitation had failed. By the time Venom returned to agility, something else had changed too, Chiara’s approach to training. Conditioning, warm-up, cool-down, recovery and choosing how to use Venom’s agility runs became part of thinking about him as an athlete for the long term. IN THIS EPISODE What happens after a medial shoulder diagnosis Treatment decisions and why shoulder hobbles were used What living with hobbles looked like for Venom and Chiara Why rehabilitation begins during the restricted phase Rebuilding the whole dog, not only the injured shoulder Progressing from controlled exercises towards speed, jumping and agility What Venom’s setback taught the team about adjusting load Returning to agility and changing the way we think about training and conditioning Subscribe to Inside the Canine Athlete for new episodes every second Tuesday. When It Looks Like a Training Problem: Venom’s Medial Shoulder Injury in Agility | Part 1:    • When It Looks Like a Training Problem: Ven...   Educational disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an individual veterinary examination, diagnosis or treatment plan. Rehabilitation and return-to-sport decisions should be based on the individual dog and made together with the appropriate veterinary and rehabilitation professionals.