Home current Explore. Words: 1, Pages: 7. Collins Physical therapy PT for animals: A new and exploding field of treatment for injured pets, principally dogs.
Jackie worked as a licensed human physical therapist for twelve years. But, her love of animals, coupled with her interest in physical rehabilitation led her to adapt her career to one of helping animals. Since there are no Masters degree programs in the US for animal physical therapist, she started by studying animal anatomy and physiology. From that work she undertook to translate her extensive knowledge of human PT protocols to animal anatomy.
Jackie was one of the driving forces behind opening the doors of the UC Davis Veterinary School Physical Rehabilitation unit as it is officially called in — still one of only about 3 veterinary schools in the US to have such a unit. Physical therapy is all about regaining functional ability.
Jackie points out that while the medical and veterinary professions deal primarily with pathology, the focus in rehab is on minimizing or reversing functional impairment. And, in the veterinary profession the need for physical therapy services has turned out to be even greater than first thought. She notes that not only injured animals, but also ones with gait abnormalities, spinal cord injuries often seen in long backed dogs and geriatric conditions also benefit from treatment.
Collins 1 Jackie says that animal conditions which can be helped are very much the same as seen in human medicine and she can tick off an amazing array of such conditions — post orthopedic or neurosurgery; pain; inflammation and swelling; critical care recovery; soft tissue injury; joint injury; gait abnormality; degenerative joint disease arthritis ; overuse injuries; geriatric conditions and performance issues for animal athletes.
She goes on to point out that the animal benefits parallel those seen in human medicine such as improved flexibility and improved postural control and balance. And, the bonus is that it all tends to have a positive psychological effect on both patient and owner. Treatment starts with a referral, and no animal is treated without a complete record of its medical history. Jackie says communications with the referring doctor is a key part of her responsibility. These doctors not only receive calls or reports after each treatment but are also called if anything out of the ordinary occurs.
She says staying in touch is key. For some the process is short, perhaps only two visits. For others it could be as much as three visits per week for three months. Sessions generally run an hour, but some cases require only thirty minutes. Progress is documented after every visit and all patients get homework consisting of exercises and things to do between visits. All sessions are meant to be pain free. Ice is sometimes used to prevent pain.
Special care is always taken during the tissue healing and bone healing process. Instead encourage and use guided control. Collins 3 The equipment used would impress many human clinics. But this one has a better filtering system to accommodate animal hair. Physio balls balls flattened slightly in the middle are used to help an animal regain a sense of standing and balance. The next day he collapsed, unable to use his hind legs. Today, after six months of physical therapy Taz has gone from having useless back legs to walking on his own: something his owner calls a miracle.
Students have 30 days to complete each exam, and collaboration with fellow classmates is encouraged. Once CCRT candidates have taken the three courses required for certification and successfully completed all exams, they participate in a hour internship at a CRI-approved practice through the CRI Internship Program.
Because many of our core certification courses sell out months in advance, we recommend that students register for all their core certification courses as soon as they know their schedules. Students do not need to complete Introduction to Canine Rehabilitation to register for other courses. Every one of them was incredibly patient with us, our occasional hypoglycemic brain fog notwithstanding. It's obvious they're ALL passionate about what they do; I'm hoping I can live up to their high standards for animal care.
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