Wrekin Veterinary Physiotherapy

24/10/2024

Dog Wheelchair Charities 🛞

Is your dog struggling with mobility issues and you're looking to try something to give them more independence?

Dog wheelchairs can be a great option, whether temporary, whilst they recover, or permanently to allow more freedom in their everyday lives.

Dog wheels can be used for multiple conditions but are mainly utilised for spinal diseases such as intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) or degenerative myelopathy (DM). Its best to talk to your vet or physio to discuss if they’d be suitable for your dog.

Wheelchairs can be expensive, especially for the sturdy, good quality wheels needed for some larger dogs. Thankfully, there are several brilliant charities that hire out wheelchairs for dogs in need. We've listed some UK based dog wheelchair charities that may be able to help:

🔹Pumpkin and Friends

🔹Winstons wheels

🔹Broken Biscuits

🔹Peppa's Place

🔹Pick ‘n’ Mix Cause for Paws

More information and the links to these charities are available on my blog post:

https://www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk/post/uk-dog-wheelchair-charities

15/10/2024

🐎Quiz 🐎

Astonishingly, a horse jumping a 1.30m fence will experience 2.6 times its body weight through the first leg that lands!
That’s 1560kg for an average warmblood 🐎

This force is absorbed through the forelimb structures causing the fetlock to hyperextend towards the ground. The energy is stored in the tendons and released as the horse moves off, to help propel them forwards.

Many showjumping horses experience issues with their suspensorys or flexor tendons due to the repeated strain put on them from landing.

🔹Warming up and cooling down throughly is a great way to minimise chances of injury🔹

Let us know if you’d like help with getting your horse in tip top shape

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

12/10/2024

Paw Prints 🐾 🏝️

Have you ever considered what your animals paw prints might be telling you?

Dogs naturally place more weight through their front feet.
However, looking at Maia’s paw prints in the sand shows the stark difference between the weight distribution between her front and back legs as a result of her hip dysplasia.

🔹In the images, the front foot is far deeper in the sand showing the extra force through that limb. It also shows widening of the front paw into a splayed position.
Whereas the hind foot has a much smaller surface area with less weight through it.
Frankie’s footprints are a lot more even in comparison🔹

This is so interesting to visualise the extra strain and compensations the body goes through when there is dysfunction.
As she is compromised in her hips, she pushes more weight forward to relieve pressure. This may eventually lead to discomfort in those limbs, so it’s vital to consider the whole of the dog.

Have you ever noticed anything like this with your pet? It’s something to look out for next time you head to the beach 🏖️

If you have any concerns or questions about your animal, please get in touch and we can help figure it out 🐾

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

09/10/2024

Client Testimonial 🐾

Such a lovely review, thank you so much 😊 so great to see him learning and getting stronger every visit

05/10/2024

Research Summary 🔬🐴

Event horses were studied to explore the relationship between increasing workload and injuries. They studied horses from 2-5* level over three years to see the trends associated with their workload schedule.

They found that when workload was increased quickly, there was a higher chance of the horses obtaining a work-related injury.

The figures showed that an increase of work by 1.5 times, doubled the injury risk the following week. An increase over 1.5, meant the chances of injury went up to 3-6 times more likely.

The takeaways from the article to reduce injury risk are:
🔹 Consistent and regular training
🔹 Preventing fast changes in workload
🔹 Gradual reintroduction to work after breaks

These messages can also be translated into the dog world. For example, increasing the lengths of walks and adding in small gradients before taking them to climb a mountain. OR introducing more fast paced walks before taking them on a run.

If you’d like any help with your animal’s fitness, then please get in touch to discuss:

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

29/09/2024

INDIBA and Kissing Spine 🐎

Does your horse suffer from kissing spine?

Indiba can have amazing effects on kissing spine horses to reduced pain and inflammation through their backs.

When combined with manual techniques and therapeutic exercise too, it can have brilliant results, as it allows them to use their body correctly with reduced pain.

🔹Here’s a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness:

A 16 year old polo pony was diagnosed with kissing spine and originally treated with anti inflammatory drugs to resume work. After 6 months, the horse became painful and lane again.

He was then treated with INDIBA weekly for 8 weeks. His pain had reduced by 80% and he returned back to full work. Monthly sessions were given to keep him topped up and able to carry out his job.
(Source: Campos, Aguera and Requena)🔹

Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out how INDIBA can help your horse 🐴

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

26/09/2024

26/09/2024

Collarbones 🦴

The collarbone in humans attaches the arm to the body to hold the shoulder in place.

However, dogs and horses don’t have a collarbone, which means their front legs are only held onto the body through soft tissue.

This important system is called the THORACIC SLING and is made up of muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia.

A strong thoracic sling will support the body and allow for improved posture and shock absorption.

Signs of a weak thoracic sling include:
🔹Going on the forehand
🔹Difficulty bending, turning and balancing
🔹Hollow outline or a high head/neck carriage
🔹Falling out through the shoulder

If your horse or dog shows any signs of weakness in this area, get in touch and we can help!

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

26/09/2024

Help them share in £1,000,000 worth of grants this year

23/09/2024

Rugs 🏡

Environmental adaptations can play a big role in your pets comfort.

Here are a few examples of how rugs can be implemented into the home. They are a brilliant way of reducing wear and tear in your dogs and cats joints.

🔹Sofa
We know keeping pets off the furniture can be a struggle, so let’s make it safer for them. If you have wooden or tiled floors, try adding a rug below a sofa, chair or bed. When they jump up and down, they have more grip and are less likely to slip and cause microdamage.

🔹 Stairs
Stairs can be unavoidable in homes but may be a place of high speeds and quick turning. Try adding a rug to the bottom of the stairs to add extra grip.

🔹 Doorways
High traffic and high speed doorways are a great place to add a rug. And it helps prevent muddy floors so a two in one!

Rugs are great for dogs with mobility issues AND for completely healthy dogs! If we add them now, we may prevent/reduce problems further down the line.

This tip can apply to cats too! If they have a favourite jumping spot, consider adding a rug or nonslip surface below it 🐈

Get in touch or follow for more tips and tricks:

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

18/09/2024

Review 🐶

Thank you for the lovely review! It’s been wonderful to be a part of his rehab journey 😊

10/09/2024

Does my horse need physio? 🐎

5 ridden signs your horse might need a physiotherapy appointment:

🔹Lack of straightness
🔹Frequent incorrect canter leads or disunited canter
🔹Cold backed
🔹Struggles on one rein
🔹Bucking into canter

If you’ve noticed any of these signs and are concerned, drop me a message to discuss

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

31/08/2024

Meet Bertie 🐾

Bertie recently had IVDD surgery and we have been treating him with physiotherapy to help gain his strength and coordination back.

We utilised a range of techniques including manual physio, laser, home exercises and environmental adaptations. He especially loved the chicken for his exercises!

He has now made a full recovery and is back to being his playful and adorable self!

If you’d like any help with your pet’s recovery then please get in touch and we can get them back on the right track

08/08/2024

07/08/2024

🐈‍⬛ Quiz 🐈‍⬛

Shockingly, it’s estimated that >90% of cats over 12 have radiographic changes of osteoarthritis.

However, only 40% of cats will show signs and even less will be diagnosed (13%).

Cats can be such stoic creatures so it is down to us as owners and veterinary professionals to identify little signs our cats may be struggling.

This could include:
🔹 Hesitation or difficulty jumping
🔹 Decreased grooming
🔹 Being grumpier or wanting less fuss

If you’d like to know more about signs of arthritis in your cat or ways to help them:

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

07/08/2024

31/07/2024

Over the past couple of years, some of you may have heard of the Cambridge Vet School non-surgical IVDD study. The results have just been published. It’s a great write-up and quite groundbreaking!

Dogs unable to walk due to disc extrusion (IVDD) were cared for WITHOUT surgery. They had an MRI scan at the start of the study and another MRI scan after 12 weeks. These scans helped to make the diagnosis, and they also showed how compressed (squashed) the spinal cord was in each case.

The big questions were:
❓How many of these dogs would start walking again without having had surgery?
❓How compressed was each dog’s spinal cord at the start of the study?
❓Were they still just as compressed at the end of the study, 12 weeks later?

Results were interesting and included the following:
✅Out of the dogs that had deep pain sensation, NEARLY ALL of them (49 of 51 dogs, 96%) started walking again within 12 weeks. Most of them walked much sooner than this.
✅Out of those with NO deep pain sensation, nearly half of them (10 of 21 dogs, 48%) started walking again within 12 weeks. That’s WITHOUT surgery.
✅Spinal cord compression reduced in some dogs over the 12 week study period. That’s despite not having had surgery to remove the disc material that caused this compression.
✅Many dogs started walking again despite the fact that their spinal cord was still compressed, ie ‘Recovery was not dependent on the resolution of compression’

💛The authors concluded that if spinal surgery isn’t possible as it’s not available in the area or is too expensive, non-surgical management is a valid alternative.

There’s plenty of detail in the write-up, and it’s free for all to read or download via this link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jvim.17149

Many thanks to Jep for this photo

12/07/2024

Research Summary 🔬📚🐎

INDIBA was used to treat horses with thoracolumbar back pain. In the study they found that after 4 sessions, INDIBA had:

🔹Reduced thoracolumbar pain
🔹Reduced epaxial muscle pain
🔹Improved locomotion
🔹Improved back flexibility

Here’s the link for a more detailed breakdown and a link to the study:

https://www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk/post/research-summary-indiba-radiofrequency-for-thoracolumbar-pain

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

08/07/2024

Supplements 💊

Supplements are a useful part of our veterinary physiotherapy toolkit.

There are hundreds on the market, but how do we decide which is best?

🔹My top tip is to look at the ingredients and compositions🔹

Despite individual products lacking scientific evidence, the ingredients inside will likely have proven benefits.

Key ingredients for osteoarthritis might be glucosamine, chondroitin and green lipped muscle.

If you’d like any help navigating the confusing world of joint supplements then get in touch:

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

03/07/2024

26/06/2024

🔹Multimodal approach 🔹

We love combining different therapies during treatment to get the best out of each session!

Here we have the PEME mat underneath with laser being applied to the joints. We also combined this with some massage to help any compensations and tension.

Home exercises and environmental adaptations are also key to accompany the sessions and carry out during the week.

Want to know how we can help your animal? Drop us a message to find out:

💻 www.wrekinveterinaryphysiotherapy.co.uk
📧 [email protected]
📞 07776 689 754

13/06/2024

A lovely review from a while ago, it’s always amazing to hear feedback 😊 thank you for letting me help her