CANINE PHYSIOTHERAPY
How We Can Help
Physiotherapy can be very beneficial for all dogs to help improve mobility, fitness and aid rehabilitation.
Some of the common reasons for canine physiotherapy include:
- Post-operative rehabilitation
- Osteoarthritis
- Spinal injury and pathologies
- Cruciate ligament injuries
- Hip/Elbow dysplasia
- Obesity
- Maintenance
- Performance improvement
services
What To Expect
STATIC AND DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT
After the therapist has taken some history about your dog they will then make a visual assessment of them whist standing and moving. This may need to be done outside on a flat surface to make sure there is enough space to make an accurate assessment, this is where as an owner you will need to be involved to handle and trot up your dog.
PALPATION
The therapist will then palpate your dog to allow detection of any areas of pain or tension. For the therapist to clinically reason the treatment plan they need to understand the tissue state and degree of discomfort, so that the appropriate manual techniques or electrotherapies are chosen for the type and state of the tissue.
RANGE OF MOTION
During the range of motion assessment, each joint and the surrounding tissues are assessed to understand their current level of function and to discover any tissue restrictions that may need addressing.
TREATMENT
After clinical reasoning of the key areas to work on, your treatment plan will be formulated with a range of techniques from the treatment categories below. Each plan is individually tailored and will vary between each animal, depending upon their medical issues, personalities, your available time and goals.
These assessments will be performed at each visit to monitor any reactions and changes to the tissue or joints.
These are hands-on techniques that can be used to target soft tissues, as they are useful in reducing muscle spasms, adhesions, relieving pain, mobilising deep structures and improving joint mobility, whilst being a non-invasive tool that can be applied to the majority of cases.
- Soft tissue release techniques, including deep massage, trigger point work, and myofacial release.
- Passive stretches and range of movement exercises.
- Reflex inhibition techniques, which use the dog’s natural reflexes to stretch soft tissues and move joints.
- Laser
- Ultrasound
- Pulsed electromagnetic
- TENS
- NMES
- Cryotherapy
- Thermotherapy
- Muscle-strengthening exercises
- Balance and coordination exercises
- Proprioceptive rehabilitation
- Gait re-education and training
- Sport-specific rehabilitation