How massage therapy can improve quality of life in senior rabbits
- Jun 6
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
During the 2025 holiday season, I felt overwhelmed because 2 of my senior rabbits were struggling with mobility.
Titi, 13 years old dwarf bunny, kept falling with loss of appetite. While Kai, a 10 year old large rabbit, was hardly moving and falling as well.
The pain and anti-inflammation medicine had helped years ago, but no longer providing any relief or results.
PEMF therapy and red light therapy worked when Titi turned 10 years old, but I felt that he needed something more.
In a moment of desperation, I frenetically started looking for any new modalities. I researched plants I did not know and their benefits and ordered CBD oil from Germany.
But I needed something fast as Titi and Kai were getting worse by the day and it takes a moment for a product to arrive from Europe.
That is when I came across the All Paws Massage video on YouTube as I researched these key words: pain, mobility, inflammation, back problems in rabbits.
I was discovering the benefits of massage therapy and beginning my journey to exploring the many different techniques.
In a broader sense, massage therapy can be defined as the systematic manipulation of soft tissues using rhythmic pressure and strokes to prevent injuries, develop, maintain and rehabilitate function, and to promote pain relief. - ScienceDirect, Small Animal Massage Therapy: A Brief Review and Relevant Observations
I first did the 23 minutes video session on Titi and immediately noticed relief in his body. As I went through the various techniques explained by Marta on her sweet dog, I did the same on Titi and first observed a deep sigh. Titi was on the PEMF pad on "pain relief" and after 5 minutes he fell asleep and by the end he did the most amazing full body stretch.
While I placed him in his enclosure, he quickly went and ate his veggies with a voracious appetite.
It was incredible because 30 minutes earlier, Titi had shown little interest in his plate of fresh veggies.
Massage therapy enjoys solid reputation in management of geriatric animal patients. Such patients often present with progressive degenerative articular disease, loss of muscle tonus and mass, cognitive decline and development of gastrointestinal conditions (e.g., depressed gut motility), and immunosupression. Pain and lack of mobility contribute to rapid decline in quality of life and can be minimized through tissue manipulation via massage therapy. - ScienceDirect, Small Animal Massage Therapy: A Brief Review and Relevant Observations
Benefits of massage therapy on small animals
Helps to maintain their overall health and well-being
Relieves muscular tension
Decreases muscle fatigue and soreness
Improves the condition of skin and coat
Assists in flushing toxins from the body
Encourages relaxation and decreases stress and anxiety
Improves the intake of nutrients
Improves breathing patterns, especially for breeds prone to breathing problems
Injury prevention
Animal massage for senior animals as part of an effort to slow down or relieve age-related symptoms:
Improves circulation
Improves vitality
Relieves aches and pains
Improves muscle tone
Relieves stiffness
Boosts immune system
Relieves stress and anxiety
Source: All Paws Massage https://www.allpawsmassage.ca/benefits-of-animal-massage/
That incredible combination: PEMF, red light and massage therapy
Finally when the CBD arrived 10 days later, Titi was already feeling better and moving more all thanks to massage therapy. CBD allowed him to manage the pain by improving sleep and recovery.
When I noticed that Titi had tension on certain areas, I made sure to use red light therapy on that specific place before starting with the massage techniques. After a 5 minutes of 'deep tissue" red light therapy on tensed spots, I noticed that it was easier to then do the effleurage technique.
Effleurage
Effleurage corresponds to rhythmic stroking using mild to moderate pressure, with the hands molding the contours the patient’s body. It is recommended to gain patient confidence and initial relaxation and can also be used to terminate the massage session. Movements should begin at distal limb level and progress proximally along the spine. Application of rhythmic movements with progressive pressure for a few minutes induces gradual relaxation and initial muscle spasm relief, and helping prepare the body.
I try to massage geriatric rabbits every day. Sometimes it's only 5 minutes and other days much longer. I find they are very open to the experience 9 times out of 10. The day that they are not, I respect their choice and boundary. The days that they let themselves go and welcome a full body massage are very rewarding. Let the rabbit always guide you and observe the changes in their body.
Take a moment to observe how your rabbit is feeling and I promise you that your connection will be deeper than ever as your rabbit will be very grateful that you took the time to help him relieve aches and pain.
It is a privilege to take care of a senior rabbit.
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