Rehab progress for MBD case.

[realjuel]

I'm new to this board and don't even have a beardie but I work with animals using the Tellington Method(aka Ttouch).  I plan to specialize in exotics and have worked with a couple of beardies that belong to a rescue in my area. Twister came into the rescue after being found in an abandoned house so very little is known about his history though it is obvious that he was kept on purple sand and that he has MBD.  The rescue is run by an exotics vet so let's assume that she is doing everything you'd recommend.  (I'll get specifics later today).  When I saw him last Sunday his movements were very spastic to the point that he would flop around if he tried to move around much(actually hitting his head on the sides of his enclosure and often landing upside down).  His limbs were stiff and he seemed to have little active control over his foot positions-they were often curled under and he walked with his elbows though it was hard to actually see how he moved if trying to get somewhere as he mostly just thrashed around if startled.  I spent time with him in the sun, doing what we do in Ttouch.  I saw a lot of changes in him when I visited a week later and would like to hear from you guys as to what amount of progress you'd expect to see in a week, assuming the care is optimal.  They report that he is a hearty eater, as well.  And I believe this is a good herp vet (though not the one I use for my sulcata).  I'm using Twister as a case study toward finishing my training to be a Ttouch practitioner with companion animals.  Since I'm not familiar with beardie rehab in specific terms, your feedback would be very important to me and I'd like some input before I tell you what I did and what progress I saw.  I will be happy to share the methods with you once I feel that they are actually helping.  You can learn more about Ttouch at www.Ttouch.com.  Thank you for your time.
Juel Duke
Ttouch Practitioner-in-training

[ladyknite]

From what I know about Ttouch, as a rehabilitation technique it has some great accomplishments.  I believe the introduction of this therapy would be very interesting to observe on a case study and would be interested in obtaining those notes when and if that’s possible.

For dragons with MBD, there are many phases.  Some as minor as shakes, trembles and constipation to as severe as rolling and flipping over.  With each case, there are correctable issues, and things not able to be corrected.

What you describe in the actions of the dragon sounds like the advanced stages of MBD, however, it is possible to consider it a coordination issue associated with MBD and not a neurological one.  If it was a coordination issue, I could feasibly see where your therapy could provide stimulation to weakened muscles, easing their pain, increase blood flow, and circulate the system easier.  This would allow the calcium, which is now being put back into the body to circulate the system and as the bone “splintering” ceases and begins to heal, would allow the already stimulated muscles to work with the body, not against it.

If this were to turn out to be a neurological issue caused by MBD, your therapy can’t hurt.  But what hits the brain is there is stay.

To examine progress within a week would seem to be a fruitless effort in my opinion.  I’ve rehabbed a lot of MBD animals, and none ever got in a hurry about showing progress, even tho it was there, it was underlying and not easily seen.  But with your training, you may recognize something that would not be apparent to me such as tone or sensitivity.  As far as what the vet is doing for his progress, the absorbsion of calcium into his system will stabilize and there will be some noticeable improvement, although typically not remarkable in the short term.

[realjuel]

May I have your permission to use your reply and further convo in my case?  It would be a help to myself and to the case evaluator in judging my skills. I am more than happy to share what I've done and what progress I've seen in hopes that it could help other reptiles with MBD.  I was amazed at the progress Twister made and just wanted to be sure that the results were not typical of progress w/o Ttouch.  If he hadn't been purple, I wouldn't have been sure it was the same guy.  There are so many ways to explain what we do in Ttouch but one of my favorites is that we use subtle neural stimulation to change habits.  I'll keep you posted on Twisters progress and maybe even turn this into an article for our Ttouch newsletter.  Thank you.
Juel Duke

[ladyknite]

Use whatever you need.

I'm very interested to see the findings on the stimulation to the muscles and joints, considering that during the process of MBD they become somewhat atrophic and this is one of the hardest issues rehabbers fight.  If a dragon is unable to maintain stability, it's ability to self feed is decreased, regardless of it's appetite.  I'm all for quality of life, before quantity of life, but no way could i watch an animal starve to death, so modifications to feeding are made.  The generalized thought here is to add more quality to the stable subject correct?

In respect to neuro transmissions, it's been thought that MBD creates a type of blockage (similar to stroke patterns in humans) in the brain.  If your therapy added increased circulation, is it possible for this to become less complex?

[realjuel]

I have no idea about the stroke patient corollary.  I plan to type up the session notes later this afternoon and will share them-I also plan to see Twister again this Sunday. And yes, increased quality of life is our primary goal.  I'll give you a little tease--Twister very nearly caught a fly while we were sitting outside.  We give the animals frequent breaks and he was just sitting on my leg in the sun when a fly landed--he watched it and went for it and nearly caught it--surprised and pleased me to no end(though I suspect it wasn't the best thing for him to eat.)
Juel

[ladyknite]

So your objective is to achieve the physical progress.  Makes sense to me.  But still find it a curious question to test the theory of increased circulation in the brain as well.

Taking aim at a fly (mid air) requires coordination.  That type of coordination is not so commonly seen in ca deficient dragons.  In that I might assume that the coordinated efforts are making some progress.
Keep up the good work.

[zebrajanie]

I just wanted to comment how terribly fascinating this thread is !
Janie.

[ladyknite]

The fascinating part will be the updates. 

However, I'll also assume that there are many people with questions about the type of therapy Juel is providing and the unique goals set aside for this case study.  The power of information comes from many sources, invaluable questions, as well as opinions that may add to uniqueness of this post and offer Twister something more.  I wouldn't hesitate to offer any valuable information or related questions for fear of sounding a certian way.  Best way to learn

[zebrajanie]

This is a form of Metaphysical medicine/science, yes ?
I read something of this in a sci fi book, and wondered why we didn't have this available in our Real world !  I guess I just had to wait for this thread !
Pretty neat, and Informative too !
Janie.

[ladyknite]

I would consider it Alternative or Holistic in relation to Metaphysical Practice.