Have you ever had a massage? If your answer is yes, the question alone might have made you think about getting another. If you’ve never had a massage, you’re missing out on an affordable and relaxing getaway from daily stresses and relief from your aches and pains.

Just as massages are good for you, a massage does wonders for our furry friends, who can benefit from a health-enhancing massage at any stage in their life.

Massage helps animals in many other ways. By helping to keep muscles toned and relaxed and increasing flexibility and range of motion, massage helps reduce the chance of injury. If your animal has injured himself, massage also helps to reduce pain, stiffness, and soreness and can even help to detect abnormalities early on, so a problem that you might not have noticed otherwise can be quickly addressed by a veterinarian.

Animal massage is a complementary therapy and does not replace veterinary services.

How is a professional massage different from petting?

Petting and massage are both great ways to bond with an animal, but on a health and physical level, they are not the same. I’ll show you. Take your left hand and put it in front of you. Now take your right hand, and pet your hand like you would your rabbit. Stop. Now take your right hand, and gently compress the soft tissue in the palm of your hand, moving your thumb in a slow, circular motion. You can even massage your fingers this way. Feels good, doesn’t it? It’s miles away from the petting you did first, and now you may even be wishing someone would come over and massage your back….

Massage for your bunny bestie

Whether a young binky-wonder or an older flop-n-snoozer, your bunny can benefit from a health-enhancing massage at any stage in their life.

Bunnies love to explore Bunlandia, climb Mt. Couch, and leap down into Water Bowl Quarry. By helping to keep muscles toned and relaxed and increasing flexibility and range of motion, massage helps reduce the chance of injury. If your bunny has injured himself, massage also helps to reduce pain, stiffness, and soreness and can even help to detect abnormalities early on, so a problem that you might not have noticed otherwise can be quickly addressed by a veterinarian.

Is your bunny prone to digestive issues? Massage helps to remove waste and bacteria from all over the body and helps to break up gas, stimulate digestion, and relieve constipation. Massage is contraindicated during stasis and other acute illnesses, but massage before or after an episode can help to make your rabbit’s digestive system healthier.

During my internship, I worked on a very special rescue rabbit named Olivia. At approximately two-years-old, she had already given birth twice. During her second pregnancy, she developed a debilitating condition, and her family, unable to care for her, surrendered her to a rabbit rescue. 

Olivia suffers from the effects of a chronic E. cuniculi infection, a fungus that attacks the central nervous system, causing head tilt (also known as “wry neck” or “torticollis”), vertigo-like difficulties with balance due to the effects on the cerebellum, and even seizures.

Over the course of a month, I massaged Olivia in three sessions. When I met her, Olivia had knots along her spine and in her right thigh. Her neck was extremely tight and ropey - I could feel how her muscles had twisted and tightened, locking into place. The muscles on the left side of her neck lacked tone, while her right neck muscles were pulled taut. Because of her balance issues, Olivia has difficulty moving around. Her entire right hindlimb was very atrophied - I could feel the bone under the skin with little to no muscle tissue providing padding. 

After the first session, Olivia gave me a few kisses, and I went home to research what else I could do to help.

During the second session, I focused much of my attention on Olivia’s spine and back, using spinal stretch, compression, and deep-tissue techniques, including one specifically for head tilt. I also showed Olivia’s caregiver how to do the spinal stretches and compressions. 

Olivia’s condition improved between the second and third sessions. Her spinal muscles felt much looser and softer, and even her fur looked much healthier and shinier, as though she was able to better groom herself. Her caregivers reported that her mobility had improved. Because her muscles had softened so much, I was able to use compression to fully straighten her body several times and begin moving her neck into a more normal position to alleviate some of the strain. I rocked her whole body and vibrated her spine, on the joints of her limbs, and on her neck to help improve her sense of balance.

Olivia now lives in a sanctuary.