Physiotherapy
Benefits of physiotherapy
Whilst my core clients are Canines and Equines, every animal can benefit from physiotherapy and to date my success stories have also included Bulls, Wolf Cubs, Alpacas, pigs, cats and sheep. Please see my case studies page for more information on individual patients.
In today’s world, animals have become a huge part of our lives, either offering companionship, working with us, or being our competition partner and like us, animals are susceptible to injury, disease and ageing limbs. Working alongside your veterinary surgeon we can treat a range of conditions associated with the animals daily routine.
Physiotherapy for the Competitor and Worker
My experience has proven that by maintaining muscle elasticity, regularly identifying and treating muscle tensions and ensuring joints can flex and extend to their maximum capacity can ultimately improve balance and flexibility, increase stride length, improve strength, and reduce the risk of injury, therefore helping your animal to exceed its natural ability and perform to a higher level.
Intensive training not only builds muscle strength and tone, but also creates tension within the muscles as they are held static during movement and transitions. We, as physiotherapist, can identify these tensions and restrictions, and work to reduce and relax them, thus enabling your animal to work beyond it’s normal range of movement.
Physio for the Injured
Should injury occur such as tendon or ligament strains, fractures, flesh wounds or muscular lameness, physiotherapy can complement veterinary treatment by aiding structural repair, reducing muscle wastage and re-educating muscle memory. Please see our treatments page for more information on specific injuries.
Our aim is to enable your animal to return to exercise with a significantly reduced risk of re-injury.
In addition, a full rehabilitation programme can be written for each individual helping to rebuild strength and fitness in a controlled safe manner. Please see the treatments section for further information.
Physio for the Elderly
Like humans, animals also slow down with age and experience the same aches and pains as we do.
Physiotherapy can aid and maintain joint and muscle function, health, and improve circulation, which together improves overall mobility and helps to reduce the pain and discomfort of aging limbs. In addition, early intervention can prolong the animals’ career and reduce the occurrence of certain conditions as well as improve quality of life.
Physio for the Racehorse
Having worked with racehorses in a riding, rehabilitation and physiotherapy capacity, experience has shown that by maintaining muscle elasticity, regularly identifying and treating uneven muscle development, tensions and spasms and ensuring joints can flex and extend to their maximum capacity has had significantly positive results in performance.
Physiotherapy can complement your training regime by helping your horses to improve in areas such as abnormal gait, stride length, strength and balance, as well as reduce the risk of injury. It is also common for racehorses to adopt gaits such as hanging, leading leg preferences and shortened strides which can ultimately affect performance. Physiotherapy can identify the triggers for such compensations and work with you to restore and exceed potential.
Whether your animal is recovering from surgery, has been diagnosed with degenerative joint condition, is in pain or discomfort, has dropped in performance or had developed abnormal behaviour, physiotherapy is a none invasive method of treatment providing the optimum conditions for the animal to heal naturally and efficiently.