What is Animal Rehabilitation?
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What is animal rehabilitation?
Once a physiotherapist has acquired their license to work with humans, they may advance their practice by taking specialized training to work with animals.
Canine and equestrian rehabilitation are the most common forms of animal rehabilitation from a physiotherapist. Physiotherapists practicing animal rehabilitation apply the same concepts and theories as they would to a human. They are trained at evaluating your animals, bones, joints, muscles and nervous system with specialized knowledge of animal movement, pathology and anatomy. Their goal is to identify the nature or cause of an injury and provide solutions to relieve pain and restore movement & function.
Physiotherapists practicing animal rehabilitation are also capable of performing manual therapy and using therapeutic modalities on animals. Manual therapy refers to joint mobilizations and manipulations, soft tissue release techniques and other hands-on techniques to help restore movement and relieve pain. Modalities refer to equipment/machines such as shockwave therapy, laser and dry needling techniques.
For more information, the Animal Rehabilitation Division of the CPA is an excellent resource of learn more about Animal Rehab from a physiotherapist.
1. Animal Rehabilitation Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (2019). About ARD. URL: https://physiotherapy.ca/about-ard. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
Please note
This article is not intended to be a literature review. While some literature may be cited in some cases, this article should not be used as scientific-evidence of a treatment or service. Please contact your physiotherapist or other appropriate health care provider to better understand the scientific literature supporting or refuting the use of a particular treatment.