Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy For Animals
Physiological rehabilitation focuses on the treatment of injury or chronic arthritis/disease to decrease pain and restore function. Rehabilitation is a very important part of the healing process. Every patient is treated as an individual and will be given a therapy plan that offers the best opportunity for a successful outcome. Multimodal management looks at the entire animal and not just one area. Therapies are used to strengthen muscle and prevent atrophy, decrease edema/swelling and improve range of motion.
A physical examination, veterinarians history and a series of additional measurements are taken to assess for muscle atrophy and range of motion as well as quality of movement. An evaluation is done to determine where and when problems exist: atrophy, weakness, decreased range of motion, instability, and difficulty in performing activities of daily living such as getting up and down, climbing and descending stairs, and pain. A treatment program is individualized based on each pet’s needs.
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Measuring PROM (passive range of motion)
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Assessing neurological reflexes
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Assesing CP (Assesing CP (conscious proprioception)
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Measuring abdominal circumference
A pet’s quality of life may be compromised by chronic disease or arthritis, injury or postoperative pain. Quality of life is improved by helping pet’s gain better mobility and deal with pain and the debilitating effects of disuse such as atrophy. Rehabilitation speeds recovery time after surgery or injury. Pain management is paramount and may include joint supplements, medication for pain management, management of inflammation and incorporation of other modalities such as Photizo light, therapeutic ultrasound, acupuncture, NMES. Hydrotherapy including controlled swimming allows for comfortable exercise in the weightless environment of a pool. A home exercise program is then designed to achieve optimal healing and fitness.
Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy can be used for:
Arthritis | Cardiovascular conditioning | Cartilage problems | Degenerative myelopathy (DM) | Depression |
Elbow dysplasia | Fibrocartilagenous Emboli (FCE) | Hip dysplasia | Hyperactivity | Ligament damage or rupture |
Legg Calve Perthes disease | Muscular disorders | Muscle atrophy | Nervous system disorders | Orthopaedic injuries |
Osteoarthritis | Osteo Chondroitan Dissecans (OCD) | Obesity and weight loss | Paralysis | Post-surgical recovery |
Spinal injuries and disease | Skeletal disorders | Soft tissue injuries | Spondylosis | Neurological issues |
The benefits of Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy include:
Cardiovascular fitness | Improved circulation | Improved physical fitness | Minimizing pain | Improved psychological well-being |
Reduced anxiety and stress | Reduction in swelling, stiffness | Relief from pain | Weight loss | Increased fitness, stamina & muscle tone |
Increased mobility of joints | Increased range of motion | Non weight bearing exercise | Nervous system improved | Assisting in recovering orthopaedic injuries |
Osteoarthritis | Osteo Chondroitan Dissecans (OCD) | Reduced inflammation | Reduction in muscle tension | Strengthening of muscles |
Modalities used:
Many of the following modalities will be used during treatment: The treatment plan and modalities used will be discussed and the treatment is individually tailored for each animal.
Massage:
Massage is the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body. Massage is the systematic, therapeutic application of mobilisation techniques with the specific goals of relaxation, enhanced circulation, stimulation of drainage, and the release of muscle related problems such as trigger points and spasm.
If massage therapy is used in conjunction with passive stretching, it contributes to the overall function of the body. Muscle spasms are often protecting a deeper problem and it is essential to be able to differentiate the different types of soft tissue injuries. Massage goes a long way to relax stressed and painful animals.
Enhances muscle tone and pressure receptors | Decreases recuperation time | Helps prevent muscle injuries | Improves circulation of blood and lymph | Improves oxygenation of tissues |
Increases metabolism | Improves range of movement | Improves gait quality and performance | Maintains strength and flexibility | Reduces fibrous tissue adhesions |
Relieves muscle spasm and stress | Stimulates elimination of waste and toxins | Stimulates endorphin release | Pain control | Increased relaxation |
Therapeutic Ultrasound:
Therapeutic ultrasound warms the tissues and improves tissue flexibility. It is used in tendon and ligament injury. Therapeutic ultrasound creates mechanical vibrations (sound waves) which result in heating of deeper tissues to aid healing.
Reduces pain | Reduces muscle spasms | Increases healing rate | Increases elasticity of tissues | Breaks up scar tissue |
Increases blood supply | Decreases stiffness | Reduces inflammation | Enables faster healing | Relaxation |
Hydrotherapy:
Water has amazing healing properties. Pets are able to move and strengthen in the weightless environment that water provides. The buoyancy of water allows for post-surgical and painful joints to function in an environment that decreases impact. Increased range of motion in water is made possible by the weightless environment of water and its ability to help joints move more freely.
It is also a fabulous form of cardiovascular conditioning and a great way to build muscle and reverse atrophy.
Decreases pain | Mobilises joints | Decreases inflammation | Releases endorphins | Relaxes muscle |
Improves circulation | Relaxes muscle spasms | Decreases oedema (swelling) | Increases range of movement | Non weight bearing exercise |
Increases metabolism | Support for weak dogs | Reduces of frustration | Increases muscle strength | Improves muscle patterning |
Improves muscle tone | Improves muscle recruitment | Weight loss | Reduces lameness | Improves cardiovascular fitness |
Earlier return to normal activities | Slows symptoms of degenerative diseases | Improves quality of life | Improves fitness | Assists in muscle building |
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) and Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS):
Electrical stimulation is used to cause a muscle to contract that is unable to function after injury or spinal surgery.
NMES stimulates the nerves that cause the muscles to contract, and is used to rehabilitate muscles. It is particularly useful in patients with oedema, delayed wound healing, or in those unable to perform voluntary movement. NMES passively exercises muscles.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is used primarily to manage and decreases pain. TENS works by stimulating faster sensory nerves with an electrical impulse, causing an overload of interneurons, which limits the ability of sensory nerves to transmit pain signals to the brain, creating analgesia for the patient.
Wound healing | Decreases pain | Reduces inflammation | Re-educates muscle | Reverses atrophy |
Strengthen muscles | Increases neurological co-ordination | Aids in normal muscle contraction | Increases mobility | Decreases oedema |
Thermotherapy and Cryotherapy:
Heat and/or cold may be used to decrease edema and pain.
Cryotherapy (Cold Therapy) Benefits:
Decreases swelling | Reduces inflammation | Decreases pain | Decreases blood flow | Decreases fever |
Thermotherapy (Heat Therapy) Benefits:
Increases tissue elasticity | Increases blood flow | Reduces pain | Increases tissue healing | Increases muscle contractility |
Photizo light therapy:
Activates cellular metabolism to increase rate of healing, decrease inflammation and pain. Also works very well for wound healing.
Photizo Light Therapy works by energizing compromised cells and increasing blood flow using LED light of a highly beneficial wavelength. In this way, the process of cell death is reversed, leading to quicker healing and recovery following injury. Go to the product page to find out more about this modality.
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Arthritic joints
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Wounds
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Elbow dysplasia
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Neck surgery
Decreases pain | Stimulates cell repair | Reduce swelling | Stimulates the immune system | Stimulates healing |
Strengthen muscles | Reduces muscle spasms | Increases the blood and lymph function | Relaxation | Reduces inflammation |
Therapeutic exercises:
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Working on the peanut ball
Range of motion (ROM) and stretching exercises are very important to achieve improved motion of the joints after surgery or in patients afflicted with chronic conditions. These exercises are also important to help increase flexibility, prevent adhesions between soft tissues and bones, remodel periarticular fibrosis, and improve muscle and other soft tissue extensibility and to help prevent further injuries to joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The full motion that a joint may be moved through is termed the ROM. ROM is commonly measured with a goniometer and each joint has characteristic angles, such as flexion, extension, abduction and adduction.
Passive ROM is motion of a joint that is performed without muscle contraction within the available ROM, using an external force to move the joint. Additional pressure at the end of the available ROM is stretching. Both passive ROM and stretching can be performed in conjunction with each other to help maintain and improve joint ROM.
Active ROM is the motion of a joint that may be achieved by active muscle contraction. In addition to increasing strength, coordination between the muscle groups is necessary because the guidance of assisting the patient through ROM is no longer provided. The active ROM may be performed during a regular gait cycle, in which the excursion of joint motion is relatively limited, or under special conditions designed to expand motion and more completely use the full available ROM. Examples of these activities include swimming, walking on an underwater treadmill, a kind of treadmill climbing stairs, crawling through a tunnel to negotiating cavaletti rails.
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Moving through the passive range of motion
Stretching techniques are often performed in conjunction with ROM exercises to improve flexibility of the joints and extensibility of periarticular tissues, muscles, and tendons. Conditions that results in adaptive shortening of tissues, including immobilization, reduced mobility, injury and fibrosis of periarticular tissues, or neurological conditions, may respond favourably to stretching.
Therapeutic exercise is perhaps one of the most valuable modalities used in animal physiotherapy. Some of the common goals of therapeutic exercise are to improve active pain-free ROM, muscle mass and muscle strength, balance, performance with daily function, and aerobic capacity, to help prevent further injury, and to reduce weight and lameness.
Proprioceptive training occurs when an animal is able to stand independently and safely, activities to improve balance may then begin. Dynamic balance is the animal’s ability to maintain balance while the body is moving, such as while walking.
The following activities may be performed to initiate active assisted exercises and to challenge the animal’s dynamic balance: weight-shifting, manually unloading one of the limbs, balance board, exercise balls, rolls and trampolines. Other common activities include stair climbing, standing exercises, controlled leash activities with a harness, dancing, pulling or carrying weights, walking across cavaletti rails and balance board activity.
Increases awareness of limb position | Encourages weight shifting | Increases co-ordination | Increases stride length | Challenges balance |
Increases muscle tone | Assists with weight bearing | Increases muscle endurance | Improves range of motion | Increases muscle strength |
Improves limb motion | Increases flexibility | Improves reflexes | Stimulates nomal gait |
Acupuncture:
Acupuncture therapy is used to treat a magnitude of conditions. It is best known for treatment of pain and spasm. It is often as effective as prescription medications without the side effects. Acupuncture will stimulate blood flow and promote healing of damaged tissues. It also stimulates the release of the body’s own natural pain mediators. It inhibits nerves that are responsible for chronic pain.
Acupuncture has long been used before and after surgery for pain relief and to hasten healing and return to function. Acupuncture treatments are a wonderful way to increase overall sense of wellbeing in older animals and animals with chronic diseases.
Reduces pain | Releases endorphins | Increases healing | Relaxes muscles | Increases circulation |
Decreases stress | Increases toxin removal | Increases range of motion | Decreases spasm | Neurological benefits |
Jacuzzi:
The very warm water that the patient is immersed in will relax all muscles by the dilatation of the blood vessels. These patients receive a ‘whole body’ heat treatment, with all the associated benefits of thermotherapy, while the jets provide a soothing massage like sensation.
Physical massage is often combined with a jacuzzi treatment.
Decreases pain | Decreases inflammation | Releases endorphins | Promotes relaxation | Improves circulation |
Relaxes muscle spasms | Decreases oedema (swelling) | Reduces lameness | Decreases stress | Increases skin condition |
Deep Oscillation Therapy:
Deep oscillation therapy works using a gentle and deep acting electrostatic field. It uses biologically effective minute oscillations to treat deep structures such as muscles and ligaments. As it doesn’t cause any heat it can be used to treat swollen joints and tissues.
Decreases pain | Anti-inflammatory effects | Decreases oedema | Increases rate of wound healing | Decreases fibrosis |
Increases tissue healing |
Land Treadmill:
A treadmill is mainly used to pattern gait and increase an animals' fitness and endurance. Walking on a treadmill is more strenuous than walking on land. As you can also use a treadmill at an incline or decline you can target specific muscles and joints. This is ideal for neurological patients who need to learn to walk and place their limbs correctly.
Increases cardiac function | Increases joint flexibility | Increases muscle tone | Increases body and limb co-ordination | Increases joint range of motion |
Increases blood flow |
Kinesio taping:
Kinesio taping is a rehabilitation technique that assists the body to heal by providing support and stability (without restricting range of motion) to the underlying structures. It also provides long term soft tissue manipulation which extends the effectiveness of massage and stretching.
Relieves pain | Assists lymphatic drainage | Decreases inflammation | Reduces swelling |