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Animal Rehabilitation and Wellness
Frequently Asked Questions
What is animal rehabilitation?
Animal rehabilitation - also called therapeutic rehabilitation, therapeutic exercise or
exercise rehabilitation – is equivalent to physical therapy in people. Physical therapy
has been used for nearly a century to assist people recovering from major debilitating
illness, injury or surgery. As medical and surgical care for companion animals becomes
increasingly sophisticated, these same techniques and modalities can be applied to pets
to support recovery and maximize quality of life.
How do I schedule an appointment?
Therapy appointments are scheduled by referral through your regular veterinarian.
Conditioning and weight loss appointments for overweight but otherwise healthy
animals can be scheduled directly with us by calling (925) 234-2364 Monday-Friday
from 8am to 5pm.
What conditions do you treat?
Cranial cruciate ligament rupture – with or without surgical stabilization
Other orthopedic surgical patients, including total hip replacement, femoral head &
neck excisions and fracture repair
Intervertebral disc disease – with or without surgical intervention
Degenerative myelopathy
Sports injury, including iliopsoas injury, gracillis tendon contracture, biceps
tenosynovitis, etc.
Patellar luxation – after surgical stabilization
Obesity
Arthritis and chronic pain
What does an underwater treadmill do?
An underwater treadmill has many uses in an exercise therapy program. There are
numerous benefits to exercise in an underwater treadmill vs. “dry land”. Foremost
among these is the reduced impact on painful limbs or joints and the increased
resistance underwater which allows the patient more time to react to changes in speed
or footing and builds confidence. It is not unusual for patients immobilized by
neurologic disease, arthritis or obesity to simulate walking movements underwater.
Movement is key to recovery and weight loss and gives patients a tremendous
confidence boost. This kind of exercise is also extremely effective at building core body
strength and improving cardiovascular fitness.
What is laser therapy?
Laser therapy is the use of specific wavelengths of light to penetrate tissues and
stimulate cellular activity. Laser therapy has been shown to increase blood flow, help
clear inflammation, reduce pain and speed healing of chronic or infected wounds.
Laser may also help speed healing of nerve tissue after spinal cord injury.
What is e-stim?
E-stim or electrical stimulation is the use of electrical impulses to stimulate increased
tissue growth, reduce swelling, numb nerves to reduce pain, and also strengthen
muscles. E-stim is similar to the use of “TENS” (transcutaneous electrical nerve
stimulation) in people – a common treatment for chronic pain, especially joint or back
pain.
What is therapeutic ultrasound?
Therapeutic ultrasound (as opposed to diagnostic ultrasound used to make images of
the internal organs and a pregnant woman’s fetus) is the use of sound waves outside
the range of human hearing to stimulate soft tissues. Therapeutic ultrasound causes
deep heating where surface heating methods are ineffective as with large muscle
sprains and/or scar formation. Deep heating is beneficial for improving blood flow,
relieving pain and also allowing more effective stretching to prevent injury or tissue
contraction.
Specialized ultrasound units that emit very low frequencies of sound can be used to
accelerate bone healing after fracture or infection.
Why does your facility look more like a gymnasium than a hospital?
Our facility is designed to be a safe and encouraging space for our animal patients. We
do not perform any invasive medical diagnostics or treatment at our facility. Because
we do not do any painful procedures, dogs and cats are more relaxed and cooperative
for their treatment sessions. Our goal is to make therapy seem like “playtime”. We use
lots of treats, toys and positive reinforcement to give pets the confidence they need to
recover.
How is this different from exercising my dog at home?
Home exercise is an important part of every pet’s lifestyle and can be critical to the
success of their ongoing program. However, during recovery from a major injury or
surgery, exercise needs to be appropriate and kept in proportion to the patient’s
physical status and abilities - dogs and cats will not always follow “doctors’ orders”
and they rarely rest when you tell them to!! At ARW, our staff members have extensive
training in animal anatomy and physiology and the practice of therapeutic exercise to
target specific body parts without causing stress, pain or injury to the animal.
What if my dog is afraid of water?
The use of the underwater treadmill differs in many ways from the experience dogs and
cats have in a bathtub, pool or open body of water. The patient’s movement is more
controlled and predictable in an underwater treadmill machine and they are often
reassured by the fact that their feet are never off the ground- they do not have to “jump
in” or work to keep their head above water. Lastly, the water is kept at a comfortable
temperature for exercise and to prevent the “shock” of a sudden temperature transition.
Much of the time spent during the first few sessions involves desensitizing the patient
to any anxiety about the treadmill. Most dogs are comfortable being in the treadmill by
the second session and within several sessions they are familiar enough with the
process to enter the treadmill without guidance.
What is medical boarding?
Medical boarding is a specialized service where patients who need overnight care but
are not in critical condition can be monitored until the regular veterinarian is open
again in the morning. This option is significantly less expensive than a stay at a
standard 24-hour emergency care facility.
How is medical boarding different from regular or traditional boarding?
For medical boarding patients, our staff remains on-site with the patient overnight,
checking on them every few hours and administering fluids or medications as needed.
Our traditional boarding services include oral medications, meals & regular walks, but
not 24-hour care or injections.
What other services do you offer?
Animal Rehabilitation and wellness also offers acupuncture by appointment, grief
counseling in group and individual sessions, and nutritional consultations. We sell a
limited number of prescription diets for patients with specific nutritional needs as well
as a selection of therapy equipment and harnesses for patients who will be continuing
their rehabilitation therapy at home.