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Rehabilitation Therapy
Long Island Veterinary
Specialists offers comprehensive animal rehabilitation services in our
state of the art facility staffed and equipped to address all of the
rehabilitation needs of your pet. Under the direction and supervision of
staff surgeons, the road to recovery couldn’t be any shorter!
Our goal is to greatly
improve the quality of life of your pet by offering the most advanced
physical rehabilitation services available in a comfortable and
compassionate environment. By providing a safe, caring, and stimulating
environment for your pet to enjoy both days and nights, you too can have
piece of mind!
Rehabilitation Services
 Physical rehabilitation is
often indicated after injury, surgery or disability and is
an essential part of the recovery process. The goals of rehabilitation are to enhance optimal healing, minimize complications
and promote an early return to function. The art and science of
rehabilitation as provided by a trained, experienced professional can
help pets get safely back on their paws.
Rehabilitation works by: decreasing pain, inflammation
and swelling, improving blood flow, promoting early mobilization and
normal movement patterns, minimizing muscle atrophy, and improving the
general attitude and spirit through mental and physical stimulation.
Some of the indications for rehabilitation include:
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Pain (injury, surgery,
arthritis or disability)
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Soft tissue trauma
(strains, sprains, tendonitis)
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Joint injuries (trauma,
arthritis)
-
Orthopedic or neurosurgery
(post operative care)
-
Geriatric conditions
(atrophy, arthritis)
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Obesity
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Performance dogs and
working dogs (strength and conditioning)
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Specific disease conditions
(Degenerative Myelopathy, Discospondylosis, Fibrocartilagenous
Embolism, Fibrocartilagenous Embolism, Hip Dysplasia, IVDD, Muscle
Tears, Neuropathy, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Tendonitis,
Wobbler
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Post Surgical patients
Many different modalities are used either as a sole treatment or in
conjunction with each other to achieve the desired result.
Hydro-treadmill Therapy
Land Treadmill
Massage
Neuromuscular Electrical
Stimulation
Swim therapy
Therapeutic exercises
Therapeutic manipulation
Therapeutic ultrasound
 If you feel that
your pet may benefit from these expanded services, contact your veterinarian about a referral to the surgery department at
Long Island Veterinary Specialists for a rehabilitation consultation. If
you have any questions about how these modalities may benefit your pet,
please contact staff members of the surgery department for additional
information.
Acupuncture
 Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine needles at specific points in
the body to produce a desired effect. Acupuncture has been used world
wide in human medicine for over 5000 years, and has proven to be an
effective treatment option for several disorders. The insertion and
presence of the acupuncture needle in specific locations in the body
results in several physiologic changes. The type of reaction the body
undergoes can be changed by the time period that the needles are left in
the body and the location, called insertion points. Acupuncture in the
rehabilitation patient is used most often to relieve pain, decrease
muscle spasms, and to increase nerve regeneration and circulation.
Cryotherapy
 Cryotherapy is the use of cold or cool agents over an injured or healing
area of the body in an effort to decrease the temperature of the
surrounding tissues. Following an injury, the inflammatory reaction that
follows is a necessary part of the healing process. In certain
circumstances, it is necessary to lesson the degree of inflammation to
promote the healing
process.
Cryotherapy can promote early return to
function by:
-
 Decreasing nerve conduction velocity (which decreases pain perception)
-
Decreasing the rate of inflammatory chemical release (which
decreases
inflammation)
-
Decreasing blood flow temporarily followed by a rebound increase in
blood flow
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Hydro-treadmill Therapy
Hydro-treadmill therapy
(underwater treadmill) provides the ability to strengthen the patient’s muscles
in an environment of little or no pressure on the joints or soft tissue surgical repair
sites,
due to buoyancy of the water. Warm water, provided by a self contained heating
and sanitizing system, increases circulation, flexibility, mobility and
contractility of the muscles.
The benefits of the hydro-treadmill include:
-
Earlier return to ambulation post-surgically
-
Strengthening of the muscles and soft tissues surrounding painful
sites
-
Weight loss
-
Improved Cardiovascular function
By changing the depth of the water level and speed of the treadmill,
different muscle groups can be exercised thus broadening the impact of
the time spent exercising. As with all of the therapy programs, safety
is our primary concern.
All patients are fitted with life vests and are handled by our trained
personnel.
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Hyperthermia
 Hyperthermia is the use warmth or warm agents
over an injured or healing area of the body in an effort to increase the
temperature of the surrounding tissues. Following an injury and the initial
inflammatory reaction, heat therapy increases local blood flow and softens scar
tissue
in chronic situations.
Heat therapy should not be used earlier than 72 hours after surgery or
injury.
Heat therapy is typically used
along with cryotherapy during phase 2 inflammation. When cryotherapy and
heat therapy are applied together, they are typically
alternated and done in cycles.
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Land Treadmill
 As
with hydro-treadmill therapy, the land treadmill will increase strength,
balance
and coordination. This form of therapy, while used less often than the
hydro-treadmill, has distinct advantages in certain patients:
-
Maximum stimulation of bone growth and
muscle development targets specific muscle groups by changing the
angle of inclination.
-
Because the land treadmill lacks the ability to reduce full weight
bearing on the joints as is possible with the hydro-treadmill therapy,
it is used primarily for strengthening in the absence of pain, or
reeducation of balance.
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Massage
The benefits of
therapeutic massage are well recognized in human and veterinary
patients:
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Improved circulation
-
Reduction in muscle
spasms
-
Reduction in anxiety
and stress
-
Improved relaxation
and comfort
-
Reduction of pain
Massage is
performed by our certified massage therapist and is most often
used in conjunction with other modalities to maximize the impact.
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Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation
 Neuromuscular
electrical stimulation (NMES) is the application of a low level electrical current which results in
a muscle contraction. This is achieved by placing electrodes at either
end of a muscle. These muscle contractions can be used to mirror normal
contractions for animals that are non-weight bearing or have limited use
of a muscle or muscle group. NMES can be used to lessen atrophy after
surgery or injury. Additionally, NMES can increase muscle strength for
muscles that have been inactive for prolonged periods. NMES is
commonly used in paralyzed patients
after surgery to stimulate muscle re-education.
Swim Therapy
Swim therapy (Free swimming) provides
the opportunity to improve the
patient’s muscular and cardiovascular
strength. Additionally, the warm water provided by a self contained heating and
sanitizing system increases circulation, flexibility, mobility and contractility
of the muscles. Because of the increased cardiac demand of swim therapy, it is
recommended in specific patients and closely monitored. All patients wear a life
jacket while swimming, regardless of their swimming abilities.
The benefits of Swim therapy include:
-
Earlier return to ambulation
post-surgically
-
Strengthening of the muscles and
soft tissues surrounding painful sites
-
Weight loss
-
Improved Cardiovascular function
As with all of the therapy programs,
safety is our primary concern. Patients
are limited to short swims, however,
they may swim two or three times daily.
Therapeutic Exercises
Exercises are an important part of the rehabilitation process and must
be done by experienced professionals to avoid injury. Many types of
therapeutic
exercises can be recommended depending on the
 desired
result.
Some
examples include:
-
Passive range of motion exercises to increase circulation to the joint
cartilage, stimulating new cartilage production, and
stretching exercises to increase circulation, muscle flexibility and
joint range of motion .
-
Proprioceptive exercises to help train the nervous system to know
where the paws are in space.
-
Strength exercises (stairs, land treadmill, hydro-treadmill,
sit/stands, rock wall.) to increase circulation to the limbs and
stimulate muscle development.
-
Ambulation exercises to re-educate spinal patients in the mechanics of
ambulation
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Therapeutic Manipulation
 Manipulations
are an easily overlooked part of the rehabilitation process that can
be performed with no
specialized equipment. The most common manipulations
are passive range of motion and stretch exercises to increase circulation to the
joint cartilage production, and to increase range of motion at the joint.
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Therapeutic Ultrasound
 Therapeutic ultrasound is the use of sound waves passed through tissue
resulting in local heat formation. This increase in temperature has
certain desirable physiological effects in injured or post surgical
patients. Therapeutic ultrasound used together with topical medications
is termed phonophoresis. Phonophoresis enhances the delivery of the
medication through the skin. This technique allows for increased
concentrations at the local levels, thus reducing side affects related
to oral or injectable methods of administration.
The uses of therapeutic
ultrasound include:
-
Increasing
circulation
-
Increasing
contractility of muscle fibers (to increase range of motion)
-
Decreasing scar
tissue integrity
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Decreasing pain
and muscle spasm
-
Decreasing inflammation
-
Acceleration of wound healing
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