Practical Physiotherapy for Small Animal Practice

Practical Physiotherapy for Small Animal Practice provides a concise and accessible introduction to physiotherapy that demonstrates its benefits to both veterinary patients and practitioners.  One of the fastest growing specialties in veterinary medicine, this book will help you to successfully introduce physiotherapy into your practice improving rehabilitation and recovery of dogs and cats. 

Key features:

• Covers an array of different treatments and techniques, such as manual therapies, therapeutic exercise, electrotherapy, and hydrotherapy
• Includes practical advice on selecting equipment, examinations, treatment protocols, and charging
• Offers strategies for introducing physiotherapy into the practice schedule, including space and staffing requirements
• Companion website provides over 50 printable client education handouts for download

About the authors vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xi

About the companion website xiii

1 Introduction 1

2 Anatomy: structure and function of the musculoskeletal system 7

3 Healing 29

4 Clinical examination 47

5 Modalities 69

6 Manual therapies 91

7 Common neurological conditions and their rehabilitation 115

8 Therapeutic exercise 147

9 Splints supports and aids 195

10 Pain 211

11 Treatment protocols 225

12 Setting up a physiotherapy clinic 259

Appendix 1 Nomenclature 279

Appendix 2 Regenerative medicine 281

Appendix 3 Further reading 283

Appendix 4 Useful websites for aids and equipment 285

Index 287

David Prydie, BVMS, CertSAO, CCRT, MRCVS, is the founder of Physio-vet, a dedicated small animal physiotherapy practice and is one of only a few veterinary surgeons working full time in canine rehabilitation in the UK. He has been a featured speaker on animal rehabilitation and physiotherapy at many national and international conferences. He is especially interested in Sports Medicine (agility, flyball and obedience dogs,) and the management of chronic mobility diseases in dogs such as arthritis and degenerative myelopathy (CDRM.)

Isobel Hewitt, BSc(Hons), MSc, is a chartered physiotherapist and a member of the Physio-vet team. She is a category A member of ACPAT (Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy).