Duncan Veterinary Physiotherapy

24/12/2023

👌🏻 And that’s a wrap! 👌🏻

🤰🏻 I will now be on maternity leave until September 2024! 🤰🏻

🤗 I want to say an enormous thank you to all my wonderfully generous clients who have kindly showered me with gifts, advice and words of kindness. I feel extremely touched and so grateful to be able to work with such wonderful people, and it’s an honour to help your beloved pets every day. 🤗

💔 It’s been so heartbreaking to part with my patients, and there have been some emotional final sessions! But I know I have handed them over to very capable hands and I will be back very soon! 💔

🦉 My parting “words of wisdom” are:

🐾 Motion is lotion.
🐾 Never underestimate the benefits of a hot water bottle!
🐾 Let them sniff!

🥳🍾 Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 🍾🥳

04/12/2023

💙🐾 Fynn recovering well from his cruciate ligament injury and trying his best with the cavaletti poles! Unfortunately, Fynn is completely deaf, so he can’t hear the cheers of encouragement, but I think that waggy tail speaks volumes and shows us how happy he is with himself! 🥹 Well done Fynn!!! 🐾💙

17/11/2023

🦴 Beans giving me a look that says, “Have you finished with this bit so we can get onto the biscuits?”😂 🦴

🐶 Beans is having regular physiotherapy to rehabilitate an injury to her cranial cruciate ligament. The vets and owner would like to avoid surgery, so Beans is following an intensive, tailor made physiotherapy programme to build strength and stability in her hind legs and support her joints. So far she is doing really well, and I’m hopeful we can get her back on track! 🐶

19/10/2023

💫🌟 Star of the week 🌟 💫

🐾 Norton 🐾

🐶 Norton has regular physiotherapy sessions to manage his hip dysplasia. 🐶

🧸 Norton loves his toys!! As you can see from the picture, they are a big feature in his therapy sessions! When he’s not giving me a bath with that enormous tongue 👅 or fending off his brother’s attacks 🐱 he’s dismembering one of his many fluffy toys! 🧸

🦮 Norton has had a hard time recently with multiple trips to the vets, but today he demonstrated his exercises faultlessly, and even took on the BIG wobble cushion! So for that reason, he is more than deserving of Star of the Week! 🐕

🥳 Well done Norton! 🥳

22/06/2023

🐾 🌟 This week’s Star of the Week Arlo showing off his exercises! This was just a snippet of his boot camp - nothing fazed him! Well done Arlo! 🌟🐾

22/06/2023

💫 🌟 Star of the Week 🌟 💫

🐾 Arlo 🐾

🐶 Arlo has been having regular physiotherapy over the last few months to conservatively manage a rupture of his cruciate ligament. 🐶

🤩 He has done so well with his home exercises, walking plan and weight loss, he is now back to feeling more like himself, and is looking forward to getting out for some longer walks! 🤩

🐕 Arlo has the most adorable little character, naturally cautious but a big softy once he trusts you (I was honoured with belly rubs today!) I’m looking forward to seeing him in the future and hearing all about how he’s taken to being big brother to the new arrival! 👶🏻

🥳 Well done Arlo! 🥳

06/06/2023

♻️ Passive Range of Motion ♻️

🐕 What?
Passively moving the joint through flexion and extension without any muscular engagement.

🐩 When?
Especially helpful for stiff joints or joints with reduced capacity, for example following surgery.

🦮 Why?
To restore movement, relive pain and stimulate healing.

🐕‍🦺 How?
The limb should be fully supported in the saggital plane and a gentle pushing motion applied, moving the joint through flexion and extension within comfortable limits.

🐾 Thank you Teddy for the demo! 🐾

26/05/2023

⚡️🐾 LASER therapy for Teddy the BFG following TPLO surgery! 🐾⚡️

24/05/2023

🌟🐾🥳 “Doggy Squats” are great for improving hind limb strength and stability. Echo (sporting a new haircut for the summer) tried out this exercise today. The goal of this exercise is to improve Echo’s hip range of motion and build strength in the gluteal muscles to improve her hip stability. Well done Echo! 🥳🐾🌟

18/05/2023

☀️ Now the days are warming up, it’s nice to start carrying out some treatments outside again! ☀️

🫶🏻👑 King enjoyed his session on the patio today and his hips and elbows are feeling great! 👑 🫶🏻

09/05/2023

🦶🐴 I don’t profess to be an expert in equine feet/hooves/shoes... but what I do know is that correct foot balance is absolutely essential for balancing the rest of the body and preventing abnormal wear and tear. 🐴🦶

🤯🩰 Imagine trying to run the 100m hurdles in wellies, climb a mountain in stilettos, or run a marathon in ballet pumps! Not only would your feet, ankles, legs and back likely be injured afterwards, but you’d also likely have worn through or ruined the shoes you wore as they weren’t fit for the job! 🩰🤯

🥾 If we wear shoes that don’t fit our feet or are inappropriate for the task we’re doing, then our body weight becomes unbalanced and our joints are pulled out of alignment. This causes strain on soft tissues such as muscles and ligaments and will lead to chronic pain/discomfort. The same thing happens in horses when their hooves are incorrectly shaped/worn/shod/trimmed. In addition, we are asking horses not only to carry the weight of a rider and tack, but also to perform gymnastic manoeuvres such as dressage and jumping. If their feet are not balanced, these manoeuvres become much more difficult to perform, leading to compensations elsewhere in the body, and over time wear and tear will occur and could lead to injury. 🥾

🤠 Farriers are the experts when it comes to foot care and foot balance. This picture shows the effect that remedial shoeing has had on Marvel’s hind feet so far. The farrier is using supportive putty and pads to increase the concavity of the sole, to encourage correct horn growth, counteracting negative rotation of the pedal bone, and improving weight distribution and balance. 🤠

🐎 This will help to improve Marvel’s overall posture to better support his entire body. 🐎

04/05/2023

🌈 🐶 Have you ever seen a multicoloured dog??? 🐶🌈

…you have now!!🙈🙈

🎨😱 This week Seren surprised me at the door with her new look after devouring a stash of oil paints!!! 😱🎨

🤭 Thankfully she was absolutely fine, albeit puzzled as to why nobody could keep a straight face whilst looking at her! 🤭

👩🏻‍🎓 After her display of ingenuity and creativity, it seems only fitting that she be crowned:

😈👑 Mischief of the Week!!! 👑😈

🐾 Wishing Seren a return to normal pigmentation soon! (Although purple is my favourite colour…) 🐾

03/05/2023

💫 🌟 Star of the Week 🌟 💫

🐾 Jasper 🐾

🐶 This cheeky chappy is Jasper. He has regular physiotherapy sessions to manage stiffness and an old cruciate ligament injury. 🐶

🦩 Jasper is a happy boy despite his old age and has the most loveable personality. He always greets me at the door with a toy (today was a flamingo) and a waggy tail, then snores through his treatment before finishing with his favourite part - exercises and TREATS! 🦩

🤩 Well done Jasper 🤩

27/04/2023

⚡️ LASER Therapy & Wound Healing ⚡️

🤩 Six treatments between the two photos 🤩

🪄 LASER therapy is excellent for stimulating wound healing. It often feels like magic is happening before your eyes, as the speed and quality of healing is remarkable. 🪄

🐶 This was a pressure wound resulting from an Achilles tendon rupture and subsequent plantigrade stance (hock flat on the ground). You can see how the previously damaged tissue is replaced by healthy, pink, epithelial tissue and the concave sore at the tip of the hock has disappeared. 🐶

😎 The energy emitted by the LASER works synergistically with the body on a cellular level, stimulating the healing process and down regulating barriers to healing such as inflammation and tissue necrosis. 😎

👩🏻‍⚕️ I use LASER therapy on a daily basis to treat a wide variety of musculoskeletal pathologies from wounds, to arthritis, to muscle soreness. I love using it to stimulate wound healing as you can see the effects unfolding before your eyes. 👩🏻‍⚕️

📧 Get in touch to find out more about how LASER therapy could help your pet. 📧

06/04/2023

🐾 Meg enjoying her session 🐾

💗🥹 Meg was quite apprehensive about her physiotherapy sessions at first, but she has grown to love them! It’s so rewarding when a patient learns to trust you and knows you are there to help them 🥹💗

28/03/2023

😱 Did you know… a 15 minute sniff can be as mentally exhausting as a 45 minute walk?! 😱

🐶 This comes in particularly handy for older, arthritic dogs who may not be able to walk as far, but still need the enrichment of getting out for a walk and seeing (or smelling) the world! 🐶

📰 Sniffing for your dog is much like reading the newspaper - catching up on the events of the day! 📰

👃 Dogs have FIFTY TIMES more olfactory (smell) receptors than humans!!! Meaning dogs actually take in more information about their environment through their noses than through sight, touch, hearing or taste combined! With each sniff, they process an enormous amount of information through 300 million nerve pathways!!! So it’s no surprise that this information can be just as exhausting as running around off-lead and physically exerting themselves! 👃

🐾 So next time you’re pressed for time, worrying about fitting in a walk for the dog, try slowing things down a bit and allow them to sniff that extra blade of grass, leaf, or enticing twig for as long as they like. It may just pay off later in the day when they are zonked out by the fire and you get some extra peace and quiet knowing that your dog is happy and content, and up to date on the news of the day! 🐾

23/03/2023

💫🌟 Star of the Week 🌟💫

🐾 Bruce 🐾

🐶 This big friendly giant is Bruce, a 9 year old Leonberger who unfortunately struggles with back pain and hind limb weakness 🐶

🐕 In just a few weeks, Bruce has responded so well to his physiotherapy sessions. A few weeks ago a walk to the end of the drive was as much as Bruce could manage, but last weekend he went to watch his brother* play rugby and enjoyed all the fuss that was on offer at the side lines! 🐕

🫶🏻 Bruce is the biggest softy, and it’s so rewarding to see him have a new lease of life in his older years! 🫶🏻

✅ Keep up the good work Bruce!

*human brother!

18/03/2023

💫🌟 Star of the Week 🌟💫

🐾 Molly 🐾

🦴 Molly struggles with advanced elbow and carpal arthritis, but still loves to go for walks and play with her adopted brothers! Molly loves to lie on her back during her treatments and often holds a squeaky toy in her mouth the whole time - that is until the gravy bones come out! 🦴

🐶 Regular physiotherapy sessions have helped Molly’s mobility, reduced lameness, and relieved secondary back pain. 🐶

🐕 Osteoarthritis can be a very debilitating condition for animals of any age, often having a negative effect on mood, demeanour and even changing personality. Most animals diagnosed with osteoarthritis will be on regular medication and/or supplements under the guidance of their vets (an important component of long term management). But for many animals, this may not be enough. Medication alone may not be enough to correct the complex array of secondary symptoms of arthritis such as altered posture, back pain, muscle wastage, abnormal gait, interrupted sleep, stumbling, general weakness, difficulty reaching food/water bowls, depression and lethargy. 🐕

🤗 Regular physiotherapy can help with all of these areas - something which medication alone cannot do. Physiotherapy is noninvasive with no side-effects, and can improve both quality and quantity of life! 🤗

17/03/2023

🌟 🥭 🐶 Mango comes in very handy as a demo dog to demonstrate therapeutic exercises for patients’ rehab programmes! 🐶 🥭 🌟

10/02/2023

09/02/2023

🌟 🐶 Milo demonstrating how well she is progressing with her exercises following TPLO surgery! 🐶 🌟

🤓 It is important to be selective with rehab exercises depending on the goals you are trying to achieve.
🐾 The goal of the cavaletti pole exercise is to encourage even weight bearing through all four limbs, maintain joint range of motion, and promote a normal gait pattern and footfall.
🐾 The goal of the isometric wobble cushion exercise is to encourage a more even bodyweight distribution by shifting the body weight onto the hind limbs, improve balance and increase core stability.

🐕 Flexibility and adaptability is key to making sure the exercise is appropriate for the patient and their stage of recovery, and quality over quantity is so important, particularly post-operatively! 🐕

08/02/2023

💫 🌟 Star of the Week 🌟💫

🐾 Milo 🐾

🐶 Milo has been having regular physiotherapy treatment following surgical repair of a ruptured cruciate ligament, and has been doing so well that she’s already moving onto some advanced exercises just weeks after her surgery! 🐶

🐕 Milo is recovering extremely well from her surgery, which is a huge testament to the brilliant surgeons at and her very dedicated owners carrying out home physio with her every day. 🐕

🏋🏻‍♀️ The most important thing we are working on with Milo is maintaining the strength and stability in her hind limbs, and preventing dramatic muscle wastage that occurs following a cruciate rupture. Unfortunately, muscle wastage happens twice as fast as muscle building, which means 4 weeks of muscle gain will disappear within 2 weeks without continued movement and exercise! Rest is absolutely essential for healing, but controlled targeted exercise is also vital during recovery to minimise muscle wastage and shorten recovery times dramatically! 🏋🏻‍♀️

🦴 Milo is a pleasure to treat, and LOVES her biscuits so is very keen to try out new exercises for a tasty snack. 🦴

✅ Keep up the good work Milo!

16/08/2022

🐾 Jack enjoying some much needed TLC today! 🐾

💗🐶 This elderly chap is normally a bit of a wanderer, and finds it hard to settle and get comfortable, but today he fell asleep during his treatment which was so lovely to see 🐶💗

🥸 Don’t be fooled… we normally have him up on the wobble cushion and hopping over the cavaletti poles, showing the youngsters how it’s done! 🥸

29/07/2022

I had the pleasure of meeting and treating this beautiful boy recently following orthopaedic surgery. He is a very sensitive soul, and his mum was quite worried about how he would respond to physiotherapy (aka being poked and prodded by a stranger) but he was tremendously brave, and as you can see from the video, he found his treatment to be quite relaxing… 💤

Here’s what his mum had to say:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I have been thoroughly impressed with the service and care Sadie has provided. As a veterinary nurse I am very picky about who I trust to treat my animals but Sadie impressed me from the start. My very nervous and bouncy flatcoated retriever recently underwent surgery to correct a luxating patella, his recovery has been complicated due to him having a previous surgery on his other hind leg. Sadies calm, patient manner is slowly putting him at ease and he actually now relaxes into his sessions. Her extensive knowledge is very impressive allowing her to provide effective and safe treatments. I highly recommend her!”

Such lovely words, and so rewarding to gain Bryn’s trust. 🙏🏻 🐾

13/07/2022

Very pleased to be back doing some nursing today for Vets4Pets Wycombe Marsh. It’s lovely to see the old team again, and a few new faces! 🤩
It’s great to be able to do some nursing work alongside my physio as it means I can keep informed of any new clinical/surgical techniques or protocols being used in practice, which means I have a better understanding of the best way to approach rehab/pain management for my patients. Also, I really enjoy the clinical side of nursing and I sometimes miss working as part of a team! 😊