An Overview of Veterinary Physiotherapy

 

Veterinary physiotherapy is physical therapy for animals.

 It typically uses a combination of; electrotherapy, manual therapy, like massage, hydrotherapy, and remedial exercises to allow the body to heal itself and achieve optimum performance as efficiently as possible.

Physiotherapy can be used on practically any animal and can have incredible effects – you can find some unbelievable, heart-warming videos of animals learning to walk again, or an old dog getting zoomies after osteoarthritis treatment!

Its usage depends on the type of animal, species, breed, age, what their ability is, what the owners expectation and ability is, and what they’re ‘used’ for.

-        I do hate that term, ‘used for’, but it is something that needs to be considered; are they a competition animal? – what type of competition? Are they a companion animal, or a much-loved pet? Are they a service animal? This helps decide what physiotherapy can do to help, and how intense, and regular treatments should be.

Most people would also probably associate physiotherapy with rehabilitation – what you do after an injury or when there’s a problem.

And of course, rehabilitation is a massive part of physiotherapy, and can definitely help to give the best chances of full recovery.

But physiotherapy is arguably most effective when used as ‘prehabilitation’ – the age old thing of ‘prevention is better than cure’.

And I think this is where a lot of people struggle with the concept, as how can you know something is making a difference? Or would it just be happening that way anyway?

There’s the obvious answer of looking at scientific studies where there’s a treatment and a control group, or a placebo group to see the effects.

There’s other people’s experiences – previous horses would go lame and wouldn’t be able to compete to the desired level, since having physio with a subsequent horse, they have been able to progress well.

However, I think that it would be easiest to just think about it logically.

If you have a horse who is jumping, surely it would make sense to take precautions to look after the horses tendons – as they are likely to come under the most strain from repetitive concussive forces.

Or, if you have an older labrador – they’re renowned for getting osteoarthritis in their hips and elbows. So, if you take measures at a younger age, surely that must slow down the progression of OA?

The best way to see if physio is helping is to have evidence of progress:

That can be pictures and videos of from the first physio session that can be referred to later.

If set goals have been achieved – and surpassed!

Positive behaviour changes – better mood, more eager to do things.

Performance enhancement – can jump into the back of the car again, can exercise for longer.

Now! All the prehab and rehab that a physio can both provide and recommend counts for naught, if the owner or caregiver doesn’t follow the treatment plans that a physio will prescribe.

My thinking physio is, the initial session will push the ball into motion. It’s then up to the client to maintain the momentum & keep the ball rolling!

The brilliant thing with physio, is that it’s so versatile.

A treatment plan can be moulded for any ability, timeframe, budget, or equipment / facility availability.

Of course, if a plan has to be severely altered to be suitable, effects may take longer to appear, than others.

But, progress is progress!

And subsequent visits from the vet physio will help to keep the ball rolling, and ensure steady, positive results.

- The regularity of vet physio visits will depend on the type of case, and the clients wishes or ability.

All in all, physio is a brilliant tool to be used when it comes to animal health, welfare and performance.

I could ramble on all day about physio, and why it’s great, I just find it so interesting.

But I will leave it there for now & will probably revisit vet physio as a whole many times.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments about topics you’d like me to write about, or any suggestions to improve my blogs.

For any other information, or to book a veterinary physiotherapy appointment, please contact me directly.

All the best,

Emma, The Biomechanic.

BSc(Hons), FdSc, MIRVAP, RAMP

07861195709

emma@the-biomechanic.co.uk

www.the-biomechanic.co.uk