Keep Moving

Physical rehabilitation can be a helpful tool for animals that are recovering from surgery or injuries to joints or soft tissues, or that suffer from chronic pain. Canine Rehabilitation can help dogs recover more quickly, increase mobility and flexibility, improve endurance and agility, and reduce the need for pain medication. Patients that use rehabilitation programs range from overweight pets and those recovering from injuries and surgeries to senior pets with chronic, debilitating conditions and agility, field trial, hunting, and service dogs.

Physical rehabilitation can be an invaluable addition to a veterinary practice with relatively low overhead costs. Overview of physical rehabilitation modalities:

• Cryotherapy
• Heat Therapy
• Passive Range of Motion
• Balance Therapy
• Walking Exercises
• Cavalletti Rails
• Land Treadmills
• Hydrotherapy
• Therapeutic Laser
• Electrical Stimulation
• Therapeutic Ultrasound
• Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy
• And many more

Rehabilitation is an essential aspect of the recovery plan for small animal patients. Protocols should be tailored for the individual patient based on its disorder and the goals desired from rehabilitation. All therapy sessions take patience and practice; some exercises or modalities may work better for different patients’ temperaments and specific conditions. Rehabilitation changes as the animal improves and recovers; the therapist must be educated about physical rehabilitation – This is what the VAHL Workshop “Keep Moving” does!

Physical rehabilitation can be a helpful tool for animals that

• are recovering from surgery or injuries to joints or soft tissue
• suffer from chronic pain.
• want to eliminate the need for surgery
• need a conditioning program to help prevent injury

Canine Rehabilitation can help dogs recover more quickly, increase mobility and flexibility, improve endurance and agility, and reduce the need for pain medication. Before surgery it can help lose weight, reduce pain and gain muscle.

Once patients are diagnosed you can assist in the recovery through a wide range of therapy options, including:

• Cold therapy, Warm therapy
• Manual therapy, including massage and joint mobilization
• Massage
• Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
• Therapeutic exercise, including an underwater treadmill
• Gait training
• Assistive devices for all types of animals, including slings, harnesses and carts

Almost everyone! You treat a wide variety of diagnoses. An effective physical rehabilitation plan is key to getting your animal patient back in action after injury or surgery.

You may also work with highly active pets, working dogs, and competitive athletes for conditioning and maintenance in order to prevent injury. Athletes demand a lot from their bodies, and you can help maximize your patients full athletic potential. As physical rehabilitation specialist you will also educate the pet owner during each session, to be sure that they can continue the rehabilitation and recovery process at home with exercises and therapeutic techniques.

There are all sorts of reasons why canine and feline patients need rehabilitation:

• Arthritis
• Degenerative joint disease (DJD) or degenerative disc disease (DDD)
• Hip dysplasia
• Tendonitis
• Muscle tone abnormalities
• Nerve injuries
• Vestibular and balance disorders
• Post-operative care
• Fibrocartilaginous embolism
• Degenerative myelopathy in dogs
• Cervical or back pain
• Cerebellar disease
• Wound healing/degloving injuries
• Weight loss
• Cruciate (knee) surgery

As physical rehab specialists you will assist your patients in the recovery of neurological function, mobility and balance through a wide range of therapy options. You will give the pet owner education during each session to be sure he can continue the rehabilitation and recovery process at home.

Keep moving – spread out for more knowledge – your best investment into the future!

~ Dr. med. vet. Beate Egner

VAHL webinars have been held weekly since April 2020. These are held by specialists from all over the world. Topics include small animals and horses. The webinars meanwhile have over 900 registered participants. In September 2020, the symposia were additionally launched and are scheduled on a Wednesday..

The VAHL webinars have become a fixed institution: every Tuesday afternoon. Take advantage live or spend a moment the weekend after as the recording will remain free of charge for one week.

The organization and preparation was put to the test in the Covid pandemic and the challenges were solved excellently by the VAHL E-TEAM. This underlines the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and a synergy of teaching-practice-industry as a goal-oriented step in terms of multimodal patient management.

Let's keep moving! · VAHL Webinars 
Particularly now, in times of the Corona pandemic, benefit from our free of charge VAHL Webinars to expand your professional knowledge! Learn more about exciting topics in the small animals and equine sector.
The Webinars are going to take place on Tuesdays at 16:30 hours (4:30 p.m.) CET, duration approx. 45-60 minutes in total. Occasionally we offer slots at lunch time 13:30 hours (1:30 PM) CET, if availability of our speaker is limited to this slot.

Take advantage live or spend a moment the weekend after as the recording will remain free of charge for one week.

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