What is physiotherapy for animals?
Much like when we visit a physiotherapist to help with an ailment we are suffering from, be that back pain, following on from an injury, issues such as sciatica or to help improve our performance in a particular sport for example, veterinary physiotherapists play a similar role for animals.
Veterinary physiotherapists take a holistic approach, this means we look at every aspect of the animals lifestyle, this may include movement patterns during a trot-up, conformation, historical injuries, exercise levels, management styles, current concerns, nutrition… the list goes on.
How can it benefit your animal?
Alongside veterinary care, physiotherapy can aid in:
the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions or injuries
improving performance
enhancing quality of life
prehabilitation (a concept we will delve further into in the coming weeks)
Our aim is to reduce pain, restore normal function to the musculoskeletal system and improve movement. When assessing an animal, we will discuss with you, what your goals are with your animal, both long and short term. These goals could be to reach a certain level of elite competition, to simply go for a ride/walk through the field with your horse or dog again, or simply know they are comfortable and have a good quality of life.
What does a physiotherapist use during a session?
Depending on what we find during an assessment of your animal and the purpose of us being there will determine what we will use to treat your animal. Some of these modalities include:
Manual Therapies – such as massage, stretching, myofascial release, joint mobilisations
Exercise Prescription – exercises may be provided to target a specific area such as muscle building, improving suppleness, flexibility, proprioception (awareness of body part placement), balance, agility and much more
Electrotherapies – these could include TENs, NMES (muscle stimulation), laser, PEMFT (pulsed electromagnetic field therapy), therapeutic ultrasound, microcurrent, H-Wave.
Each of these have specific effects on the body, and veterinary physiotherapists may use these to achieve a particular result; pain relief, aiding with muscle building, speeding up the healing processes of the body or other related outcomes (again, another few topics to cover over the coming months).
It may also be necessary for us to provide advice regarding management of your animal to help ensure they are comfortable. Some examples may include using mats on hard floors with dogs that struggle to get up or often slip during movement, changing the position of feeding or providing advice on weight loss that can help take pressure off the joints and improve general wellbeing.
Summary
Physiotherapy sessions are tailored to the individual so no ‘one-size-fits-all’, as well as owner circumstances coming into the equation. This will help to ensure we are doing everything possible to help your animal live their best life.
Watch this space, more content is on the way! :)
Have more questions about how physiotherapy could help your animal? You can message me through the 'Contact Us' page.
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