Ian and Hydrotherpy by Jemma Brown (First published in issue 20 edition of "LEAD ON" The Seeing Dogs Alliance) 

My name is “Ian” and I am a working Guide dog . My Mum is called Linda. She is very active and I go to lots of exciting (and not so exciting) places with her. We regularly travel by ferry and bus, going anywhere from  shopping to the cinema. However, all this was put in jeopardy when I developed sciatica. My Mum and the rest of the family used to live in a town house when I was little. That meant that to get to the living room and kitchen, everybody had to climb a flight of stairs. When I was younger, this didn’t pose a problem for me; used to love dropping my toys down the stairs on unsuspecting visitors and then running at them full speed after them. Unfortunately, the combination of me being a bit mad and the stairs started to cause me a few problems.

In 2006 I started to get a very painful and stiff left hip, which the vet thought was arthritis but it didn’t get better, despite the really nice tasting tablets they put me on (they were liver flavoured). I was then referred to an orthopaedic specialist called Bill. He examined both my back and hips which were really sore at the time, and found that I had sciatic neuralgia, commonly known in humans as sciatica. This means that sometimes the nerves in my back, tail and legs get pinched, as they branch out from my spinal cord.

I was put on a course of steroids to clear it up a bit, which at first wasn’t too much of a problem, apart from the fact that they made me really hungry, so I sat outside my food cupboard all day, waiting to be fed! As time went on though, I needed the steroids more and more often. This was all quite nasty. They made me feel really tired and poorly. Things were starting to look a bit bleak in terms of my future work and my Mum was really worried that I would have to retire early, which I would have hated.

When we were visiting Bill at the vets one day because my sciatica had flared up again, he suggested that a course of hydrotherapy would probably help  me and gave my Mum the number of a really good hydrotherapist in nearby Lee on Solent. My Mum contacted the Guide dogs welfare team and explained what was happening and then Bill wrote them a letter explaining my condition and that he thought hydrotherapy would really help. Guide dogs agreed that is would probably help and agreed to pay for my sessions. I soon started hydrotherapy in a purpose built pool. They have all the latest equipment to keep me safe, such as lifejackets and a special floor made of recycled car tyres so I don’t slip. Before I start each session Bex gives me a thorough health check to make sure I am ok to swim and a shower and then I’m ready to go. The water is kept at 30 degrees Celsius to help soothe my muscles.

Hydrotherapy has really helped me. I am a lot stronger than I was before and have not needed any steroids since I started. My back has not been painful and I’m feeling much better. The hydrotherapy has meant that I can continue to work and I am really happy because I adore my job!!