Animal Physiotherapy

Animal/Veterinary Physiotherapy, is a complementary therapy carried out with Veterinary consent. 

The main aim of physiotherapy is to restore mobility, function and quality of life to patients. This is done by  stimulating the bodies natural healing process to restore injured tissues, improve the balance/strength of the injured tissues and stabilising the neurological and musculoskeletal systems. It can reduce the time taken for the body to recover from an injury or operation or in the case of osteoarthritis, by using a holistic approach to reduce the pain and stiffness in the joints and slow down the disease process.

As with humans, the sooner the animal can start rehabilitation after an operation or injury, the better. As well as treating the current problem,  which aims to reduce inflammation and pain as well as preventing stiffness and muscle loss (atrophy),  animals can get compensation issues as they "just get on with it" . This is why it is the important to treat the whole animal and not just the obvious, current problem. The long-term goal is to where possible, get them to full recovery and where this is not as possible, the best they can be. This is achieved by restoring weight-bearing, strength and mobility. Team work between vets, therapists and the pets owner is essential to get to this goal.

After the initial assessment which includes stance analysis, an individual treatment plan will be implemented. This will include both manual techniques and also the use of    laser therapy, ultrasound therapy, PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field therapy), TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), Hot and Cold therapy, Kinesiology Taping depending on what I feel your pet will benefit from.  I will use exercises to target certain muscles and joints depending on the assessment and you will (where I see suitable) get homework exercises to do to enable the optimum recovery/maintenance of your pet. I also look at the environment and discuss ways of making your pets life easier with adaptions/suggestions. This can make a huge difference to their quality of live and everyday living.

Physiotherapy can help dogs with:

• Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
• Cruciate Ligaments
• Osteoarthritis 
• Muscle/tendon and ligament and soft tissue injuries
• Post trauma/RTA
• Post orthopaedic operations
• Pain/Discomfort
• Lameness and gait abnormalities
• Fractures
• Paralysed/neurological conditions 
• Post surgery scar tissue adhesion
• General better quality of life, especially for elderly pets
• Maintenance and conditioning for agility/working dogs

Physiotherapy can help cats/rabbits and other small pets with:

• Osteoarthritis 
• Muscle/tendon and ligament and soft tissue injuries
• Post trauma/RTA
• Post orthopaedic operations
• Pain/Discomfort
• Lameness and gait abnormalities
• Fractures
• Paralysed/neurological conditions 
• Post surgery scar tissue adhesion
• General better quality of life, especially for elderly pets

About Stance Analysis:

• It is a weight distribution platform that shows how much weight is going through each limb.
• Great for detecting early lameness. The human eye can only visualise lameness after the animal is 20% lame whereas the stance analysis picks up even the most mild lameness. 
• Can be used for wellness and maintenance checks as well as for an assessment tool in rehabilitation and recovery. 
• Your pet just needs to stand on a weight platform (like vet scales) with a leg in each quadrant in their natural stand. Three readings are taken. From here the average reading is shown as in the above picture. 

I understand how much your pet means to you, they are part of the family and you want the very best for them. I am happy to chat or answer any questions or worries you may have before going ahead with physiotherapy. Contact me either by calling or email or by clicking on the "contact Anna" link here....