How do you help an animal that is suffering? Is there a chance for it to enjoy a carefree life again? These are the questions that loving owners ponder, constantly looking for a solution to this extremely important problem. However, there are many more questions. Is there a field that is dedicated to the rehabilitation of animals? What are the treatment modalities? What divisions does veterinary physiotherapy fall into? What conditions are indications for therapy? Are there any contraindications to specific treatments? The answers to these questions can be found in this article, so please read on.
Zoo Physiotherapy – physiotherapy of animals
Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher of the Enlightenment, once stated that you can tell the heart of a person by how they treat animals. Was he right? Without a doubt. What is more, despite the passage of years, these words are still relevant today, and among us it is possible to see extremely sensitive people with good and noble hearts, who are unable to look on impassively at uncaused suffering. It should therefore come as no surprise that it was at the initiative of such people that a new branch of veterinary medicine was created – zoo physiotherapy (called animal rehabilitation or veterinary physiotherapy), whose mission is to improve the function and mobility of muscles and joints. Specialists in this field make every effort to improve the quality of life, reduce pain, speed up the healing process after accidents, surgery, neurological and obesity-related diseases, as well as the ageing of animals. It is the fastest growing branch of veterinary medicine and has been growing in popularity in recent years.
So what is the answer to the first question? We are already in a hurry to answer it. The divisions that make up veterinary physiotherapy are:
- vibrotherapy
- massage
- active kinesitherapy
- passive kinesitherapy
- laser therapy
- hydrotherapy
- magnetotherapy
- ultrasound
- electrotherapy
- thermotherapy
Do all of these names sound familiar? If not, rest assured. It will all become clear in a moment.
Vibrotherapy
Vibrotherapy is known for its powerful analgesic and circulatory improvement effects in humans, but it is proving equally effective in treating our pets. It is one method worth looking at for its safety and effectiveness. Is it as obvious as other forms of animal physiotherapy? Certainly not for everyone. Appropriate vibrations, arranged in therapeutic programmes, can be successfully used not only to treat us, but also our pets. In September 2010, the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine published an article summarising experimental research on the use of vibration massage to treat brachial plexus injury in rats. What can be learned from it? Vibration treatment can effectively accelerate brachial plexus repair, slow skeletal muscle atrophy and promote the secretion of nerve growth factor (NGF), which can prevent nerve cell death. On the other hand, the journal Academic Radiology published an article in August 2021 about the positive effects of vibration stimuli on bone formation. Other sources state that low-frequency vibrotherapy removes muscle tension and calms, while higher frequencies stimulate the nervous system and increase muscle function in animals, so it is worth using them in therapy.
Massage
The first thought? Rest, relaxation. And rightly so. Massage can take many forms. They differ in terms of the grip, the position adopted by the patient during treatment, the strength and effectiveness of the effect. The best-known type is the classic massage, which can also produce healing and relaxing effects in animals. The main aim of massage is to nourish the tissues through effective oxygenation and blood supply. What are the basic massage techniques? Stroking, rubbing, kneading, patting and shaking. These are quite familiar, so we will not dwell on them.
Active kinesitherapy
Do you want to improve spinal and joint mobility, body coordination, increase resistance to fatigue, and prevent cardiovascular and respiratory complications in your pet? If so, then it would be a great idea to take advantage of active kinesitherapy, where the muscle tone is self-controlled by the patient.The types of active activities performed in this area are, for example, ball exercises, sit – stand, lie – stand, walking between posts, tunnels, pulling or carrying weights, as well as walking on hills
and moving treadmills.
Passive kinesitherapy
Activities in this field consist of inducing movement in the patient, through the appropriate work of a specialist or a device that moves the body part in question. When an animal suffers from post-exertional pain, muscle contractures and adhesions after injury, passive kinesitherapy can be a means of relieving its suffering to a considerable extent. However, care must be taken! Unstable fractures, acute joint and muscle pain, strains, muscle or tendon ruptures are serious contraindications to the treatment, as the activities involved are pulling or carrying weights, nourishing joint cartilage, preventing spasms, stimulating circulation, improving muscle elasticity and flexibility.
Laser therapy
Unfortunately, it is very common for an animal to suffer from spinal diseases, orthopaedic, neurological or dermatological conditions, surgical wounds, ulcers and haematomas. In such a situation, an excellent solution would be to treat it with laser therapy. The laser light beam penetrates the tissues and has a bio stimulating effect on the patient’s cells. However, this solution cannot be used in 100% of cases. Contraindications for the treatment include cancer, fever, pregnancy, general exhaustion, epilepsy, acute bacterial, viral or fungal diseases, taking certain medications, and oestrus.
Hydrotherapy
How do you help a pet who is agonising over painful joint conditions, neurological diseases, gait disorders, muscle pain, obesity and old age? There is an excellent way – water therapy. If your pet is a bath lover, this form will be a hit. Veterinary physiotherapists conduct classes on a hydro-bath, in which the patient is placed, obtaining the appropriate depth of water for the condition. Is this solution good for every patient? Definitely not.
This type of therapy should be abandoned if the pet reacts with aggression to contact with water, suffers from infectious and other diseases that can be transmitted through water, skin diseases and open wounds, as well as acute inflammation of muscles and joints.
Magnetotherapy
Can a magnetic field help in some way to treat an animal? Definitely yes. It penetrates all tissues and cells of the body. The therapy is versatile; it has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-edematous effects. What’s more, it accelerates wound healing by affecting various biochemical processes at the cellular level. This treatment is used to accelerate bone healing after fractures, in tendon injuries, in the treatment of discopathy and spondylosis and in generalised orthopaedic, neurological and dermatological conditions. Contraindications to the procedure? Cancer, pregnancy, gastrointestinal bleeding, pulmonary tuberculosis and acute viral, fungal infections.
Ultrasound
The therapy uses sound waves at frequencies inaudible to the human ear. The action is based on the generation of internal heat, increased permeability of cell membranes and micromassage. There are many benefits to subjecting your pet to this treatment, it has an analgesic, anti-inflammatory effect, improves blood circulation, blood flow and metabolism, but unfortunately it will not work for every patient. However, it is important to note that if your pet has cancer, acute joint inflammation, acute injuries or is pregnant, they cannot benefit from the treatment.
Electrotherapy
The use of electricity in veterinary medicine is quite popular, especially neuromuscular electrostimulation, which is used to speed up recovery from illness or long-term immobilisation. Electrotherapy has an analgesic effect, enhances joint stabilisation, increases blood supply to the muscles and enables muscle growth. Pregnant animals, cancer patients, as well as thrombophlebitis and epilepsy should not be treated.
Thermotherapy (Cold and Heat)
Treating animals with cold? It is an excellent solution for sore joints, leads to a reduction in local blood flow and also slows down nerve conduction, has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. It is used especially when joint inflammation is evident or when there is a need to prevent swelling and pain. The use of heat, on the other hand, leads to an increase in blood flow by accelerating nerve conduction and dilating blood vessels. It relieves pain and improves the elasticity of the joint capsule, tendons and ligaments. Contraindications include hypersensitivity to cold/heat, cancer, acute infectious diseases, inflammation and post-traumatic conditions.
This was the last of the veterinary physiotherapy sections. Finally, the key to success is the frequency of treatments. Single sessions guarantee improvement for a short period of time, so if you want to enjoy the positive effects of your pet’s treatment for as long as possible, it is worth ensuring regularity.
References:
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- https://vetkompleksowo.pl/kategorie-tematyczne/rehabilitacja/fizjoterapia-weterynaryjna-omowienie-wybranych-metod-rehabilitacji/
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- https://www.mp.pl/pacjent/rehabilitacja/kinezyterapia/cwiczenia-czynne/129356,kinezyterapia-cwiczenia-czynne
- https://www.veterynaria.pl/news/hodowcy-artykuly/fizjoterapia-weterynaryjna
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