Here at Clent Hills Pet fitness and Rehabilitation Centre we pride ourselves in the broad range of complementary services we are able to offer your pets. We are one of the only rehab centres in the Midlands to have physiotherapists, hydrotherapists and vets working alongside each other.
If your pet requires rehabilitative treatment, here’s how their journey with us will most likely evolve:
The process starts with you, the pet owner. You may have noticed lameness and/or a change in behaviour, or observed an accident.
Step 2
The next step is the vet, either one of our in-house vets or any outside veterinary practice referring your pet to us – it’s actually a legal requirement for therapists to work with veterinary referral. The vet will assess your pet and diagnose the problem, normally using a hands-on assessment and/or advanced imaging techniques such as an X-ray or CT scan. The vet may perform surgery if required and/or prescribe pain relief. As part of your pet’s recovery plan, the vet may also recommend complementary treatments, and that’s where our fitness & rehab team comes in.
Step 3
The next step in the process is to have an initial consultation with one of our physiotherapists. At our fitness & rehab centre, our physiotherapists use hands-on and visual assessment techniques to identify areas of pain, muscle imbalances, joint problems, neurological issues and compensations. Our physiotherapists will be able to devise a treatment plan, including exercises for you to help your pet with at home. Short term and long-term goals will be established. At this point the physiotherapist will report the treatment plan back to the vet.
The treatment plan devised by our physiotherapist may include hydrotherapy, either on our water treadmill or in our large indoor pool. The hydrotherapist will take this part of the treatment plan forward and modify the plan each session depending on how your pet responds. After a block of approximately 10 sessions, or earlier if the hydrotherapist has any concerns, the pet is seen again by the physiotherapist for a review. This is to establish whether the goals set are being achieved. At any point the physiotherapist may refer your pet back to the vet for further investigations or for pain relief modifications.
Find out more about our Pet Fitness & Rehabilitation Centre and the range of services we offer.
If you would like to discuss your pet’s needs, get in touch with our team.
Main photo L to R: Laura Cockram – Physiotherapist, Debbie Rice – Hydrotherapist, Laura Buckey – Vet & Acupuncturist, Jess White – Physiotherapist, Emily Ashdown – Physiotherapist, Harriet Lowe – Hydrotherapist