How Canine Rehabilitation Can Improve Your Dog’s Mobility And Quality Of Life

Discover how canine rehabilitation helps dogs regain mobility and improve quality of life with innovative therapies for injuries and chronic conditions.

You might be surprised by how far canine rehabilitation has come. While once considered an alternative therapy, today it’s quickly emerging as an essential service. Let’s take a look at a variety of therapies that can help your dog regain mobility and improve their quality of life, whether they’re dealing with arthritis or recovering from an injury or surgery.

What are the principles and goals of canine rehabilitation?

The American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians (AARV) defines physical rehabilitation as “the diagnosis and management of patients with painful or functionally limiting conditions, particularly those with injury or illness related to the neurologic and musculoskeletal systems.”

Rehabilitation focuses on improving the function and quality of life in animals with arthritis or neurologic disorders, as well as those recovering from surgical procedures. First and foremost, it aims to relieve pain and ameliorate discomfort, while ensuring the dog’s condition does not worsen. After effectively managing the pain, rehabilitation therapists can help restore normal muscle function, reduce muscle atrophy, and improve mobility. The overlying principle focuses on a return to normal mobility and neuromuscular function.

A multimodal approach integrating pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention often works best, combining different therapies to support your dog during recovery.

Which dogs (and other animals) benefit from rehabilitation therapy?

While horses received rehabilitation early on, dogs, cats and other species now benefit. In addition to enhancing peak performance, this growing field helps improve mobility and quality of life for dogs facing various acute and chronic conditions. These include:

• Cranial cruciate ligament disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Post orthopedic surgery
• Hip dysplasia
• Elbow dysplasia
• Luxating patellas
• Intervertebral disc disease
• Immune-mediated polyarthritis
• Obesity
• Sprains and strains
• Geriatric onset laryngeal paralysis polyneuropathy
• Chronic pain
• Paralysis
• Hind limb weakness
• Spinal injury

What kinds of rehab therapies are available to dogs?

Rehabilitation uses many techniques and modalities. Rehab therapists may be use single therapies or a combination of techniques from both Eastern and Western medicine. A multimodal approach may help maximize your dog’s return to function.

Standard therapies to consider

1. Hydrotherapy offers fantastic options, including swim therapy or underwater treadmill therapy. The buoyancy of water reduces stress on painful joints, improving circulation, flexibility, mobility and range of motion. The underwater treadmill is the best tool for strengthening weak muscles. Often, dogs with neurological problems can walk in the water before they can walk on land. Swim therapy may involve exercises in the pool and provides a good cardiovascular workout. It also works well for arthritis.

2. Manual therapy includes joint mobilization, spinal manipulation therapy, massage and passive range of motion (PROM). Joint mobilization and PROM help relieve pain, decrease stiffness and prevent loss of function in non-ambulatory dogs. Spinal manipulation therapy (chiropractic) involves adjusting spinal segments with decreased motion. Massage reduces stress and pain, relaxes tight muscles, and improves circulation.

3. Electrotherapy uses neuromuscular stimulation (NMES) to strengthen muscles in paralyzed animals. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) helps with pain relief.

4. Therapeutic ultrasound employs sound waves to increase blood flow and aid in wound healing in tissues. Rehab therapists also use it for tendonitis, pain, muscle spasms, joint stiffness and contractures.

5. Therapeutic exercises, individually tailored for your dog as an in-clinic and/or home exercise program, help improve balance, strength, and co-ordination. These exercises work to rebuild weak muscles and target specific muscle groups for strengthening.

Many rehab practitioners now use acupuncture

Acupuncture, although an ancient modality, has been embraced by a growing number of mainstream veterinarians in recent years. It involves the insertion of very fine, sterile needles into specific points on the body, causing a biochemical reaction within the tissue that stimulates healing and/or pain relief.  Since Traditional Chinese Medicine believes all disease and pain result from an imbalance of energy in the body, rehab therapists often use acupuncture as the primary form of treatment for promoting healing. We use acupuncture mostly for neurological conditions and arthritis pain relief, although it has many other uses.

Additional cutting-edge therapies for canine rehabilitation

1. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) uses laser light to heal tissues by affecting cellular change. It helps with muscle spasms and neurological conditions, and helps decrease pain, including arthritis.

2. Extracorporeal shock wave (ESWT) delivers high-energy sound wave to stimulate the body’s repair processes. This non-invasive treatment can help dogs experiencing lameness and pain. The high-energy sound waves – sometimes called pulses – travel through soft tissue at customized depths, reaching specific treatment areas. These waves trigger the activation of the body’s repair system. Different-sized applicator heads (5mm and 20mm) allow shockwaves to penetrate to specific depths, while various energy settings allow for customized applications.

4. Myofascial trigger point therapy arises from the recent recognition of myofascial pain and trigger points in both humans and animals. Common after surgery, muscle pain often continues long after the surgical site or original injury heals. Dry needling, similar to acupuncture, helps relieve pain. This pain can be treated with dry needling, similar to acupuncture.

5. Regenerative medicine, which includes stem cell therapy or platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy, is now being offered by many rehabilitation practitioners. With PRP, therapists take a sample of the dog’s blood and spin it down in a centrifuge. They remove and discard the red blood cells with a pipette. The leftover concentrate is called PRP, and contains platelets and proteins that can be used to promote healing and treat areas of inflammation in the body. PRP therapy treats inflammatory conditions that affect ligaments, muscles, and tendons, such as osteoarthritis. It may also help with bone regeneration after a fracture.

6. Joint injections, including cortisone, hyaluronic acid and osteocushions, or in the case of elbow arthritis, particles of a radioactive Tn-117 solution that targets macrophages, may help with osteoarthritis. In the latter, the radioactive particles deactivate the cells within the joint that cause pain, inflammation, and ongoing damage to the cartilage.

Why canine rehab is a growing field

• Many people see their dogs as family members and want to provide them with the same level of care they seek for themselves.
• As dogs live longer, they often develop chronic conditions that benefit from rehabilitation.
• The popularity of dog sports, such as agility and disc dog has skyrocketed, leading to more injuries that require rehabilitation and pain management.

History of veterinary rehabilitation 

Veterinary rehabilitation has evolved over the years. In the 1970s, books on animal rehabilitation began to emerge, sparking interest in sporting dogs. By the late 1990s, veterinarians started exploring various treatments and therapies aimed at restoring function for active dogs. Formal education for veterinarians interested in rehabilitation began, and organizations like the American Veterinary Medical Association established guidelines for this field.

Your dog’s rehabilitation appointment

When you take your dog for their first rehabilitation appointment, an accredited professional will conduct a thorough assessment. This may involve a veterinarian or a physiotherapist trained in canine rehabilitation. They’ll evaluate your dog’s orthopedic and neurological systems and perform a gait analysis using a pressure walkway. They’ll also determine pain, body condition, muscle, lameness and muscle strength scores. They will palpate muscles and identify areas of pain or tightness.

Based on the examination, the professional will make a rehabilitation diagnosis and create a customized rehabilitation plan for your dog. Sometimes, they may recommend additional diagnostics like X-rays or blood tests before starting therapy.

Consider canine rehabilitation in the future for your dog

Canine rehabilitation has come a long way, and it can make a world of difference for your dog. Whether they’re an athlete, recovering from surgery, or simply feeling stiff with age, exploring rehabilitation options could help them find relief from pain and get back to enjoying life.

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