Following COVID-19, the popularity of humans sharing their homes with a smaller 4-legged friend boomed. Now, nearly half of households in Australia have dogs or cats, up from 40% in 2019! 
 

The increased number of people owning dogs and animals is wonderful, knowing first-hand the joy that these small animals can bring. However, it does also mean a steep learning curve for a lot of owners, and potentially one where a professional’s input could help your pet. Veterinary Physiotherapy assessment could be crucial to you and your pets to identify areas of weakness and pain in early stages, which often helps prevent more severe injury… which also helps prevent more expensive veterinary treatment! 

 

Dogs and cats are susceptible to a range of injuries and disease that can cause pain and dysfunction in their bodies. These include but are not limited to: 

• Hip dysplasia 

• Cruciate ligament injury 

• Arthritis 

• Intervertebral disc disease 

• Weight management 

• Elbow dysplasia 

 

Manual therapy treatments include massage, stretching and exercise prescription. The benefits from these include: 

• Increased blood flow, which increases cellular activity that improves comfort and biochemical balance. 

• Decreased pain sensation: reduced stiffness and improved soft tissue comfort greatly improves our comfort as well as moods, and the same applies for our pets. 

• Improved muscle strength and symmetry: targeted exercises and management on a regular basis encourages controlled strengthening, improved muscle condition and strength, and therefore greater ability for your small animals to continue to perform the jobs that they love – like catching a ball and jumping on to the couch with you. 

 

Electrotherapy treatments include LASER therapy and muscle stimulation therapy. The benefits from these include: 

LASER

• Increased biochemical activity at a cellular level, which increase blood flow, generation of blood vessels and pain relief. Owners notice a significant improvement in their animal’s energy levels following an intensive course of LASER therapy. 

Muscle stimulation 

• Controlled activation of nerve fibres which activate targeted muscles, without increased force on limbs that may be unable to exercise a lot, following injury. 

• Particularly effective for animals following surgery on hip injuries, cruciate injuries, and neurological symptoms following IVDD surgery, for example. 

 

 

Rescue dog discount of 5% - proof of adoption from a registered charity required.