Our Services
The primary goals of rehabilitation are to improve the function of Your Dog or Horse
This is achieved by restoring normal movement patterns, joint range of motion, strength, balance, and agility after injury, illness or surgery. Successful rehab also relieves pain and prevents future injuries from occurring and enables your animal to return to its job. This could range from a happy companion pet to a competitive sports dog or horse that excels in their specific discipline.
With advanced post graduate equine and canine education and qualifications, physios are a key member of your animals wellness team.
Our
Therapeutic Toolbox
As physio’s, we view our varied skills, techniques and technologies as tools in our therapeutic toolbox.
Follwing a thorough physical assessment, we select the best tools to help resolve the problems we have identified.
Therapies For Dogs & Horses
Exercise Therapy is the most essential piece of the rehabilitation puzzle. An individualized exercise program will be developed to target both single muscles and functional groups.
Different exercises will be practiced during therapy sessions and taught for repetition as a home program. Exercise Therapy improves strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and weight bearing after surgery or injury. Combined together, the right exercise program will enable your animal to rapidly return to full, painfree function.
Manual Therapy encompasses all of the hands-on techniques used to treat your animal. Methods include joint mobilisations, traction, soft tissue stretching, massage and myofascial release.
These therapies increase joint range of motion, reduce pain, relieve muscle spasm and enable the body to restore optimal levels of function.
Laser therapy directly stimulates tissue repair, regeneration and remodeling. Laser light in the red and near-infrared range is absorbed by specific chromophores in the body that have a very positive effect on biological healing reactions.
Photobiomodulation applied to impaired or dysfunctional tissue leads to a response mediated by mitochondrial mechanisms, including the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
We use both Summus Class 4 (hot) laser and BioFlex Class 3 (cold laser).
Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles at specific points along the body’s meridians – the channels that transmit energy or ‘chi’. Each acupuncture point is where nerves and blood vessels converge and stimulation by a needle at the specific point restores energy balance, improves blood circulation and promotes natural healing.
Acupuncture also increses the release of pain and anti-inflammatory relieving substances that reduce discomfort.
Dry needling or Intra Muscular Stimulation (IMS) involves inserting a single needle into a trigger point to stimulate a twitch release of tight fibers. Unlike traditional acupuncture, the needle is removed after a few seconds.
Electrotherapeutic modalities are used to optimise healing through the application of electrical currents into injured tissue.
Neuro Muscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) is used to elicit and facilitate a neurologically damaged or weak muscle to contract.Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is used to treat pain by stimulating local pain relieving chemicals (endorphins) and blocking persistent pain signals from reaching the brain.
Ultrasound uses sound waves to penetrate deeper into tissues to increase local blood supply, promote healing and decrease pain. Cavitation occurs as the sound energy causes rapid contraction and expansion of microscopic gas bubbles around the injured tissue which also speeds healing.
Our Senior Canine Classes are a great way for you to have fun with your aging dog while improving their quality of life.
As part of a small group, you will take your dog around circuit training stations and complete exercises that focus on improving strength, balance, and general conditioning.
Education on caring for the physical needs of your older dog and providing relaxation techniques will also be provided.
Sometimes assisted devices such as braces, splints, canine slings, lifting harnesses, scooters and wheelchairs are required to achieve treatment goals. We will assist with the fitting, purchase and practical use of these items.
