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By Chris Bates M.Ost DipAO

To the untrained eye, it can appear that osteopaths have some mystical ability to understand an animal and their condition simply by laying their hands upon them. But it’s not magic — it’s palpation. Palpation is the refined art of feeling and assessing the condition of an animal by touch. Osteopaths spend entire careers refining their sense of touch, though they will have developed a strong proficiency by the time they graduate. Palpation is one of the most important hallmarks of osteopathic practice, and often stands as a clear point of distinction from other professions.

What Does Osteopathic Palpation Actually Involve?

Feeling More Than You Might Think

To feel well — we need to understand that we are not just feeling one or two things. Palpation uses the entire range of touch receptors to assess. As well as feeling for the obvious lumps and bumps, we are feeling temperature, tissue texture, mobility of joints and tissues, elasticity, and asymmetry — essentially everything.

Palpation allows us to assess both the superficial and the deep. Osteopathic training gives practitioners the ability to sense the various tissues and their individual differences — from superficial palpation of the skin through to deep muscle and even viscera — allowing us to detect the state of the body as a unit.

A Practical Example: Palpating the Horse’s Hip Joint

The different tissues of the animal’s body have different properties, and when an osteopath palpates, they will detect these depending on where they are working and what tissues lie beneath their hand.

When palpating over the hip joint of a horse, for example, we can begin lightly and detect the temperature of the skin, the state of the coat, and any abnormalities such as dryness or damaged skin. Then we can feel the taut fascial connective tissue over the hip joint — quite different from other areas where fascia may be more mobile and elastic. There will be muscle and tendon tissue, each with different states of tension and elasticity. We can then palpate the joint borders and bone surfaces, including the synovial capsule and surrounding ligaments.

This all takes practice, of course, and osteopaths continue to refine this skill throughout their career.

How Does Palpation Work? The Science of Touch

Our hands are incredibly sensitive tools. Not only do we have remarkable dexterity, but the shape and structure of our hands and digits provides extraordinary perception and control. As our ancestors evolved and became less reliant on front limbs for locomotion, those limbs were freed for more advanced manipulation — a generalised specialism unlike anything seen in our ape cousins.

The Receptors Behind the Skill

The surfaces of our hands — particularly the fingers — are highly innervated with receptors that relay information to the spinal cord and brain:

• Mechanoreceptors detect pressure and movement
• Merkel cells provide perception of fine surface detail
• Pacinian corpuscles register vibration

These different receptor types send information via specific spinal tracts to the somatosensory cortex, where the brain processes this vast sensory data. Over time, these pathways become more refined. The more we use a skill, the better and more developed it becomes — and in osteopathy, palpation is fundamental to that development.

What About Reliability?

There are voices within the health and veterinary industries that question the reliability of palpation, often citing evidence of poor inter-practitioner reliability. However, this type of research fails to account for the development of skill over time and a practitioner’s varied exposure to different tissue conditions. Of course there will be variation between practitioners — this reflects the uniqueness of individuals, not a fundamental flaw in the method.

Palpation is not claimed to be infallible, nor superior to all other assessment methods. The point is that it is free, improvable, instant, and capable of clarifying the full picture of the animal in front of us.

Why Does Palpation Matter for Animal Health?

Detecting Change Before Dysfunction Appears

Osteopaths can detect subtle changes that may occur before an animal begins to display overt signs of dysfunction — leading to improved welfare and more proactive health maintenance. Osteopathic concepts like the Involuntary Mechanism (IVM), often referred to as cranial osteopathy, use palpation continually to assess changes as they occur, requiring well-honed skills to interpret.

The underlying causes of a condition can often be addressed during routine maintenance. Many animal osteopaths recommend regular check-ups to monitor these types of changes. Because animals cannot verbally describe their feelings, developing a deeper ability to detect alterations creates a more profound understanding of the animal and their health state. By building a regular connection with your animal osteopath, they can more fully understand the animal’s “normal” — and better detect when that balance has been disturbed.

Palpation as Part of a Wider Assessment

Palpation sits alongside the other assessment tools at our disposal. It is not enough on its own to form a thorough hypothesis, even in osteopathy. Active and passive assessments are vital for obtaining a holistic view — and during passive assessment, we are palpating the whole time too.

Sometimes the conclusions we move towards through observation and active assessment are contrary to what we perceive during palpation. This can create confusion, but it is a reminder that even these tools together do not provide the full picture. A thorough case history, communication with paraprofessionals, vets, and the owner are all essential. These often fill the gaps and clarify why we may palpate one thing but observe another.

Palpation During and After Treatment

One of the great advantages of developing strong palpation is the ability to reassess immediately after treatment. When we can perceive a tissue change once treatment has been applied, there is a strong likelihood it has had the desired effect. In fact, the real beauty of manual therapies as employed by osteopaths is that we can feel tissues react and change while treatment is taking place.

As my Osteopathy teachers would often say: “When you feel change, that’s when to stop.” It is very easy to overtreat an animal, and this can be just as damaging as leaving a dysfunction to perpetuate. Palpating well and sensing change in real time means we can apply only what intervention is needed to allow the body to adjust — then stop.

How to Improve Your Palpation Skills

Whether you are an animal osteopath, a different type of therapist, or a conscientious owner who wants to better connect with your animals, developing your palpation will be genuinely valuable. Here are the key pointers:

Learn the Anatomy

Understanding anatomy gives you a three-dimensional visualisation when you place your hands on the body. Professionals should always be reflecting on and updating their anatomy knowledge — but owners can benefit from this too. There are excellent books on equine and canine anatomy that make what can seem a daunting subject approachable. Contact LCAO to discuss our reading list. Speak with your vet when they visit. Practice labelling printed diagrams — or even your animals, if they are willing. Knowing muscle locations, joint structures, tendons, ligaments, and visceral positions makes you a far better perceiver of issues when they arise.

Palpate Different Animals

If you have access to a variety of animals, palpate them all — with permission — and feel the variations from species to species, breed to breed, and individual to individual. Try palpating the same area on two different horses: can you feel the differences in muscle development?

Practice Light, Medium, and Deep Pressure

By varying the level of your palpation, you will perceive different layers of tissue and densities. Start very lightly. Pressure should never blindly push through — it should be graduated and constantly responsive. Too much pressure can also alter how your receptors function, potentially numbing you to certain sensations.

Slow Down

Many people try to go too fast and miss a great deal. Imagine “melting” into the animal’s tissues and visualising the anatomy as you go. Slow is not inefficient — it is comprehensive and good practice.

Monitor the Animal’s Reactions

Palpation also includes the reactive behaviours shown when a certain area or depth is contacted. You may not feel a difference, but the animal might. Reading behaviour during palpation is an integral part of the osteopathic assessment process — particularly in dogs and other animals with complex emotional responses. Be aware that palpation is about reading the whole animal, not just the tissues.

Practice Pattern Recognition

Hold a handful of coins in your closed hand and try to differentiate them without looking. If you have the opportunity to palpate an injury or dysfunction, do so — it will help you recognise that sensation and that pattern in the future.

Get Supervision

If an experienced practitioner or osteopath can observe your technique and give feedback, this is invaluable. Compare what you feel to their conclusions, ask their opinions, observe how they approach palpation, and try to incorporate what you learn into your own style.

Conclusion

Learning palpation is a fundamental skill in animal osteopathy — and one that extends its value beyond the clinic. It teaches patience, awareness, mindfulness, and a commitment to self-improvement. Your hands are remarkable tools. Enhanced palpation skills may even help you better experience the world around you, or recognise changes in the health of those close to you.

Try out the pointers above and discover what your hands can tell you.

By Chris Bates M.Ost, DipAO, EEBW, BHSAI

The term “meridians” is used across the therapeutic industry to describe a number of things. The interchangeable use can create confusion around what a therapist is actually doing and the models they are using to assess and treat an animal. The fact remains however that the word is very useful to describe both energetic phenomena and the anatomical pathways of certain tissues. It can be very useful as owners to understand more deeply what their therapist is referring to and this article aims to clarify what these terms and models mean.

Understanding the Body as an Integrated Whole

The body of any animal can be described from a variety of angles. Notice I didn’t say it can be “separated out” or “broken down”, this is because I’m an Osteopath and we know that separation and isolation of systems means it is no longer a “body”. The different angles one can view the body will inevitably lead to different models of health. We could think of models of health as our way into intervention; we have to start somewhere and hopefully gain a greater understanding holistically with more information.

What Does Holistic Really Mean?

The term “holistic” gets thrown around a lot in the world of health but rarely does it actually mean addressing the whole. We see myofascial therapists referring to myofascial release as holistic, but this could only be true if the entire body was muscle and fascia…

Of course this does not mean that those therapists do not think holistically, nor does it mean that the therapy is invalid. But we need to see modalities as “ways in”, not as independent. All therapies will affect the other aspects of the being because animals (and we) are integrated units, myofascial release will affect the mind, acupuncture will affect the connective tissues, it is unavoidable and of course essential.

Now that’s cleared up (well, as clear as mud for most of us), let’s discuss some of these “angles” and how they work.

The Energy Model Meridians

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qi Flow

The concept of energy meridians can be traced back to early traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This concept was transported around Asia and also forms the basis of the Japanese system of Shiatsu (finger pressure). This energy concept describes a universal energy and life force existing in all living beings called Qi (Chi – Chinese, Ki – Japanese).

The health of the individual depends on the optimal flow of this energy throughout the body via meridians which are described as vessels or pathways for this energy. If this flow becomes blocked, weak or even excessive, then physical and emotional effects can appear.

The 12 Meridians and Acupoints

In TCM there are 12 meridians that correlate to an organ or system plus additional meridians that have more central functions such as the “governing vessel” and “conception vessel” which run along the spine. Along these meridians are points at which one can intervene in cases of dysfunction, these are acupoints and practitioners will use needles (acupuncture) or pressure (acupressure/Shiatsu) to clear blockages and mediate flow.

Ayurvedic Nadis and Prana

There are actually many similarities in the theory of TCM meridians and the traditional Indian system of Ayurveda. In Ayurveda, the pathways of this energy are called Nadis and the energy flowing throughout is referred to as Prana. There are similarities in Ayurvedic treatments and TCM/Shiatsu however there is often more emphasis within Ayurveda on the internal systems of control such as breathing techniques (Pranayama), nutrition and how one conducts themselves.

Obviously teaching an animal a breathing technique is rather difficult, Ayurvedic principles have however been applied to the animal model and specific modalities created. It could be argued that one could observe dysfunctional breathing patterns in an animal who is experiencing energetic dysfunction though. We must remember that a model is not just for intervention techniques but how we assess and examine, an “angle” to see from.

The Connection Between Energy Pathways and Anatomy

Although the principles of energy meridians are different to the biomechanical models, some of the energy pathways do seem to follow the path of major blood and lymphatic vessels or nerves. Some meridians being closely correlated with neurovascular bundles showing there could be a connection to their function.

As discussed, the body cannot be broken down and separated or it is no longer a body, so it comes as no surprise that this is the case because one approach will influence other systems. If we widen our lens viewing the energy meridians, we see that there is also some correlation with connective tissue pathways such as fascial lines. This is not an attempt to “explain away” the energetic principles as phenomena of the anatomy, but rather a way to highlight the validity of the approach.

Why Energy Meridians Work Well for Animals

When we look at how the intervention at meridians is aimed we can see the usefulness in animal practice clearly. Acupressure and acupuncture both deal with meridians but trying to address the entire system by the effects on just the energy system.

In TCM and Shiatsu, imbalance and poor flow of energy can lead to behavioural changes and emotional issues, with animals this can be particularly useful as an approach as unlike humans, they cannot receive talking therapies or coaching to overcome these states. Again, we have a “way in”.

Animals are particularly sensitive to touch and movement being that these are communication tools of the highest order in their evolution. The somewhat more subtle and less assertive methods of energy intervention can be a more suitable way to deal with animals who do not tolerate harder touch or too much contact.

Fascial Lines

What are Fascial Meridians?

Sometimes described as fascial meridians, the lines that appear in the fascial connective tissue in animals play a different role to the energy lines. The fascia is a collagen rich connective tissue which wraps and binds pretty much everything else in the body.

It plays a number of roles such as support, communication of forces, fluid transfer and it is even piezoelectric contributing to signaling. Our quadruped animals need to distribute their weight differently to ourselves as bipeds. This is why although there are many similarities with human fascia, animals rely on different fascial meridian layouts.

Understanding Fascia in Practice

Many will have seen fascia if you have bought meat from the butcher and seen the silvery/white covering of connective tissue and you will have felt it if you have placed your hand on a horse’s twitching shoulder. Although there seemed within the therapist community to be a push towards making out that fascia was some kind of newly discovered “holy grail” in healing, the reality is that this is not new and fascia has always been impacted by the approaches of manual and physical therapists.

Of course our understanding of fascia has improved with research and this serves to allow us a clearer understanding around why our approaches work so well.

Key Fascial Lines in Animals

If one were to look at a map of fascial lines annotated onto a picture of a horse or dog, they would not look too dissimilar to some of the energy diagrams. But this model uses tracking of fascial forces and tensions. This is again just another “way in” to the whole.

The Superficial Dorsal Line (SDL)

One fascial pathway often referred to within manual therapy is the superficial dorsal line or SDL. This line tracks from the occiput (caudal skull), along the dorsal aspect, down the caudal aspect of the hind limb and into the plantar fascia. The SDL aids in the stored force required for propulsion and elasticity in that movement and also supports posture, blending with very strong structures like the nuchal ligament and supraspinous ligament.

Dysfunction in this SDL can lead to lack of hind end engagement, reluctance in spinal extension and postural impacts.

Frontal and Spiral Lines

Conversely there are frontal or core lines and the superficial ventral line that support truncal flexion, breathing, digestive function and assist in guarding and anxiety related behaviours. The spiral lines assist in torque required for rotational movement and complex body movement coordination, dysfunction here can show in lateral asymmetries (static and dynamic) and difficulty in tight turns.

Signs of Fascial Disruption

It’s clear to see there are a diverse range of signs and symptoms that can be observed in fascial disruption. When one considers that fascia not only follows lines of force through the musculoskeletal system but also interconnects with the viscera, vessels and nerves, it becomes apparent to us that there are far reaching systemic effects of fascial disruption too.

How is Fascia Treated?

So how is it treated? Fascia responds well to light sustained touch when tethering or restriction are present. Slower movements and gliding touch can encourage layers of the fascia to slide and alter the friction coefficient by influencing the distribution of hyaluronic acid (the lubricating gel-like substance found within fascial tissue).

Therapists also claim that myofascial strokes improve hydration of the fascia in general but this claim is less researched; Osteopathically it does make sense as improving motility and vascular perfusion should allow for fluid transfer changes. These slower movements and softer touch do seem to have positive influences however, are these purely due to fascial “unwinding” and stretching? Osteopathy would argue, No…

The Osteopathic Perspective of Both Meridian Models

Using Different “Ways In” to See the Whole

As is repeated throughout this article, we are using “ways in” to the whole. When eating a meal, we don’t just engulf the whole thing in one go or we choke. We take smaller bites until we have the entire thing digested. This is how the picture of an animal’s health appears to us.

In Osteopathy we want to obtain a picture of the whole animal and their complaint. Do we look at the biodynamics or the behaviours? Do we look at the posture or the pain? The answer of course is that we need to look at all of those but we need to metaphorically “move around” to see all those angles.

The Osteopathic Assessment Approach

Within that “moving around” we will use assessment tools such as fascial lines, dynamic assessments and indeed we may look at energy meridians (if we have training in that area). Osteopathy is not so much about trying to eat the metaphorical meal in one bite, it’s about understanding there is a whole meal. By understanding the unity of all the systems and structures, we know that our hypothesis will only be a guide to what is actually happening.

Benefits of the Energy Model in Osteopathy

Energy work and Qi/Prana flow are an intriguing way to see the body and there are some benefits to observing from this traditional medicine approach. One plus to this model is that a meridian that is located in one part of the body will influence systems away from that location. Rather than simply accepting that as the way it is, in Osteopathy we can ask “why?” and investigate the interconnectedness through all the potential pathways.

Another plus is that energy work seeks to remove blockages and barriers to flow, this is exactly what Osteopathy does too. Rather than putting in something seen as missing or extracting an illness as if it were an entity on its own, Energy work promotes the animal’s own intrinsic healing mechanisms.

How Fascial Lines Inform Osteopathic Practice

Fascial lines/meridians show us as Osteopaths another tissue that could be affected by trauma or systemic imbalance/allostasis. Osteopathy has always been about deeply understanding anatomy. The better our knowledge of anatomy, the more we can hypothesise where health may be hindered.

Fascia feeds perfectly into our concept of bio-tensegrity, it offers Osteopaths another avenue beyond muscle connection, tendon and ligament to visualise forces being transmitted throughout the body.

Explaining Connections to Owners and Vets

Osteopathy used the term somatic dysfunction and models such as somatovisceral and viscerosomatic reflexes to explain certain presentations; Fascia offers an explanation for the connections that may (without it) seem tenuous and difficult to rationalise with owners and Vets.

Osteopathy remains open to new discoveries and to the traditional approaches alike. This is a strength in practice by not becoming biased to one model.