I started regular bodywork sessions with Stella when she was 10 years old.  Stella had arthritis from a young age due to her knee and hip surgeries and high activity level.  Her non-surgical hip and knee were significantly tighter and more muscular than the surgery sites.  Since both of her major surgeries were on her hind limbs, Stella compensated by depending heavily on her front limbs.  Her shoulders, elbows and wrists were extremely tight.    Once Stella was no longer able to use her hind limbs, she leaned even more into her front end and developed tightness in her back and neck.