Pet Rehabilitation of Dogs & Cats Covering Injury, Arthritis & Weight Loss.

Canine rehabilitation therapy for dogs and feline rehab for cats is a service offered by some larger veterinarian practices, and due to demand, plus the proven benefits, many Pet Physical Therapists have businesses across Australia. Movement is medicine, the benefits of physical therapy are both physiological and psychological not only for humans, but for our pet cats and dogs too.

The treatments outlined above help reduce pain, speed recovery time, and improve mobility and fitness for your pet, with the ultimate goal for many pets, to restore full functionality. However, even pets with chronic conditions like arthritis can also benefit from rehabilitation therapy to ease pain and help with mobility problems.

This article on pet rehabilitation will focus on pet injury including post-surgery, rehabilitation for arthritis & joint conditions and wellness and weight loss for dogs and cats, plus examine the different types of rehab therapies available to pets.

First we’re going to look at each of the 3 main conditions that pet dogs and cats suffer from.

After Injury Or Post Surgery

Just like children, if left unattended, cats and dogs can get up to no good and injure themselves jumping, climbing or getting involved in a fight. Fortunately, many of the injuries don’t require surgery, but there will be times when they’ll be unable to run around, perhaps due to having a cast on one leg.

Some more serious injuries will require a surgical procedure to correct the condition that otherwise would not be fixed.

Physical therapy for dogs, officially called canine rehabilitation therapy, has grown in popularity as a treatment for dogs in the last ten years. Similar to human physical therapy (PT) canine rehab utilises non-invasive treatments, such as exercises, massage, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, and other techniques, to rehabilitate injured, ill, or post-surgical dogs.

Physical therapy for cats, officially called feline rehabilitation therapy, has also seen a popularity surge over the past decade. As most cats have an independent behaviour, a tactful approach to successful cat rehabilitation demands a good understanding of feline behaviour, including excellent handling skills. Feline rehabilitation sessions are often shorter than canine rehab. sessions. Cats do best with therapeutic exercises when these exercises are linked to hunting, playing, or feeding activities.

Arthritis & Joint Conditions

What is Arthritis in Pets?

Simply put, arthritis is a condition characterised by inflammation and stiffness in the joints. The ophthalmology of ‘Arthritis’ is derived from the Greek words ‘Arthro’ and ‘Itis’ which translates to English as ‘Joint’, and ‘Inflammation’.

While there are over 100 human variations of arthritis, the most common occurrence found in both humans and our four-legged friends is osteoarthritis (OA).

Osteoarthritis arises when the joint surfaces progressively erode away, resulting in an altered environment where the joints lose their smoothness and effective lubrication. Every pet will experience arthritis differently. For some, it will barely affect your pet at all, but in other cats and dogs, it can create severe persistent pain which will in turn affect your pet’s ability to move, leading to a loss of their quality of life.

What Are the Causes of Arthritis in Pets?

Arthritis is found often with older pets, but age does not cause arthritis, the accumulation of micro events over time does.
Trauma to a joint such as breaks, fractures and dislocation can lead to arthritis later in life.

Obesity, carrying extra weight puts more demand on joints, which also makes obesity a form of trauma, and will speed up the arthritic process.
Genetics will also play its part, passing on problems to the next generation.
Dysplasia of the hip and elbow, the most common areas are where the joint isn’t formed correctly causing it to move unevenly, leading to trauma which will like obesity speed up the arthritic process.

Wellness & Weight Loss

Before embarking on a plan to correct the obesity, it’s important to establish what caused it to begin with.

Caloric Intake is too High

Overfeeding and too little exercise are the most common reasons pets gain too much weight. This can happen by not understanding how much to feed your pet dog or cat based on their exercise level, rewarding with too many treats which you don’t consider as food and not adjusting their food intake as they age and exercise less.
Consider food as the intake of calories. If your pet does not exercise enough to burn off the excess calories it eats compared to what’s required to live, it will put on weight. The quality and content of the pet food you feed your dog or cat will also affect their weight, all other factors being the same.

Chronic Illness

Underlying conditions can be a reason your pet is gaining weight. Hypothyroidism can cause weight gain because the thyroid gland produces too few hormones to regulate the body’s metabolism. Cushing’s disease causes a dog’s body to make too much cortisol, which causes weight gain, among other symptoms.

Genetics & Breed

Some breeds of dogs are more susceptible to weight gain and obesity. Without naming and shaming them all, picture what a Bassett Hound or English Bulldog looks like compared to a Greyhound or German Shorthaired Pointer for example. Yes, all dogs can become obese, but some have a genetic breed disposition to gaining weight, so it’s even more important to monitor their food intake and exercise.

Consequences to your pet being overweight will vary from pet to pet, breed to breed, and can manifest itself with mild symptoms such as shortness of breath after a relatively short walk to much more serious health risks including Diabetes Mellitus.

Now that we’ve covered the main 3 conditions and situations that your pet could find themselves in, let’s look at the rehab types available these days to help your beloved dog or cat lead a better quality of life.

Pet Rehabilitation Types

Note: The information provided on this page and indeed throughout this website should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. It is not intended to offer a substitute to the professional advice supplied to you by a veterinarian who has inspected your pet.
For the avoidance of all doubt, we suggest you make an appointment for your pet with a vet before undertaking any form of treatment.

• Massage
  Various massage techniques offer pain relief, improved joint mobility, increased circulation, and decreased stress and relaxation. It’s often used for arthritic pets and animals that have had limbs immobilised for long periods of time
• Manual therapy
  Manual techniques such as chiropractic and passive range of motion benefit joints by reducing pain and improving mobility
• Hydrotherapy
  Water physical therapy for pets, predominantly dogs use an underwater treadmill or swim spa which is ideal for pets with serious joint problems because the water’s buoyancy places less strain on joints. Swimming, as for humans is a great low impact exercise that helps your pet’s cardio fitness while burning calories
• Therapeutic exercises
  Various therapeutic exercises help improve flexibility, strength, balance, and coordination. These can help rebuild muscle after immobilisation and slow the progression of degenerative diseases
• Land treadmills
  Treadmills help pets, but mainly dogs use limbs after injury or surgery and retrain gaiting after neurologic illness, like a stroke. They’re also useful for fitness training of overweight pets in lieu of going for a walk around the neighbourhood or dog park
• Electronic therapies
  Pet rehabilitation Therapists also use non-invasive electronic therapies to improve tissue healing, stimulate circulation, reduce pain and inflammation, prevent muscle atrophy, and more. These can include therapeutic ultrasound, laser therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NES), and other therapies
• Acupuncture
  The insertion of fine needles into specific points can help relieve pain, improve circulation, and decrease muscle spasms

As we touched on above, practitioners who perform the pet equivalent of human physical therapy (physiotherapy) for dogs are often called canine rehabilitation therapists, and for cats, feline rehabilitation therapists. Veterinary rehabilitation therapists are also sometimes used too.

So, who can become a pet “physical therapist”? Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, human physical therapists, PT assistants, and occupational therapists are eligible to obtain canine rehabilitation certification.

It’s worth noting, your pet insurance policy may cover rehabilitation treatment for your fur babies.

Pet Rehabilitation Summary

Canine rehabilitation therapy for dogs and feline rehabilitation for cats is a vital service offered by many pet physical therapists across Australia. As is often said, movement is medicine, and as humans know, the benefits of physical therapy are both physiological and psychological.

The treatments outlined above help reduce pain, speed recovery time, and improve mobility and fitness for your pet, with the ultimate goal for many pets, to restore full functionality. However, even pets with chronic conditions like arthritis can also benefit from businesses offering pet rehabilitation to ease pain and help with mobility problems.

If you’ve had experience with one of the conditions discussed above and would like to share it for readers of Pet Directory, please leave a comment below.
Not a member yet? it’s FREE to join and if you have a pet cat or dog you can also add their pet profile on PetsBook. You’ll discover likeminded pet owners near you to discuss all manner of things related to your pet’s breed.

Oliver (Senior Dog Reporter)

Hi to all my fellow canines, I’m Oliver, the Senior Dog News Reporter here at PetsBook.
I will endeavour to bring to dog owners’ informative and educational articles to help make the bond between you and them even stronger.