South East Animal Physio

06/05/2024

20/03/2024

carlow dog training club we are a non-profit making organisation set up to help educate people about

22/11/2023

Good read for anyone considering Librela injection for their dog or Solensia injection for their cat

What about Librela, Anti-Nerve Growth Factor Antibody Treatment? Osteoarthritis affects approximately 50% of large breed adult dogs. It is therefore necessary to develop effective treatments to alleviate lameness, pain, and mobility disorders. Anti-nerve growth factor antibody treatment is a newly a...

26/10/2023

💫 RUSTY 💫

Poor Rusty sustained a fracture to his right foreleg back in March when he was just a few months old. He had the fracture surgically repaired shortly after, however he did not really weight bear on that leg for months afterward. He was only able to toe touch for balance when running or playing with his sister, though he would topple over very easily. He would also hold the leg up most of the time when walking.

His owners contacted me back in August to see if physio might help. So for the last couple of months I have been working with Rusty, and his treatment included laser, massage, stretching, passive range of motion and home exercises.

We can see in this video he has been making good progress, and now he can weight bear on the leg most of the time in walk, is more mobile, balanced and stronger.

Great work from Rusty and his dedicated owners! 👏

17/08/2023

We will be at this Sunday 20th August! Come say hi and have a chat about how physio can help your animal!

02/08/2023

For anyone who has a dog on restricted exercise, has arthritis or simply a dog/pup that needs some extra mental stimulation - Home Store and More currently have a good range of lick mats, snuffle mats, treat toys, puzzles and slow feeders! Lots of excellent boredom busting options!

29/07/2023

A very well behaved dog this afternoon for a quick musculoskeletal assessment!

02/07/2023

Strict rest and non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) only really address the inflammation during tissue healing. Physiotherapy can help with all aspects of tissue healing.
Yes, exercise and activity will need to be controlled but that does not mean stopped altogether. Tissue needs to be loaded in order to rebuild strength and stability. Studies show that early limb loading guided by physio following injury or surgery improves patient outcome.

A good example - a dog just diagnosed with a partial cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) tear prescribed strict rest and NSAIDs for 2-3 weeks, in order for the ligament to heal and avoid surgery.
What happens after the 2-3 weeks of rest when the dog resumes normal activity?
The dog may actually be more prone to reinjury due to inactivity and potential atrophy of the muscles around the stifle joint that help stabilise it. Ligaments are not the only tissue that stabilise a joint.

Fun fact: this exact scenario has happened me personally! 🙃 (not my dog just to be clear 😅) I had torn my ACL playing sport but several GPs kept telling me it was just a sprain and would be fine with a couple weeks rest and pain meds. Surprise surprise I kept reinjuring it everytime I tried returning to sport 😑

With physiotherapy we can help address pain and inflammation with things like laser and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy; sore and tight muscles with massage, mobilisation and stretching; as well as reduce/prevent atrophy with simple, targeted exercises.

If your animal has had an injury and you feel they are still not right after pain meds and rest, or if you feel they may benefit from physio, contact me:
📞 085 7431579
📧 [email protected]

30/06/2023

Has your horse been diagnosed with any of these conditions?
Did you know that physio can play a big part in the treatment plan?

Physio can:
🔵 Help with comfort and pain levels
🟢 Reduce the amount of pain meds needed in some cases
🔵 Improve and optimise normal gait patterns
🟢 Address any compensatory patterns
🔵 Increase strength, balance and mobility

27/06/2023

If your dog has been diagnosed with any of these conditions, I would highly recommend a guided physio/rehab plan from a qualified therapist.

Physio can:
🔵 Help with comfort and pain levels
🟢 Reduce the amount of pain meds needed in some cases
🔵 Improve and optimise normal gait patterns
🟢 Address any compensatory patterns
🔵 Increase strength, balance and mobility

Strict rest and pain meds is usually not enough to rehab your dog from any of these conditions.

22/06/2023

💫 COULD YOUR HORSE BENEFIT FROM PHYSIO?💫

Have you noticed your horse exhibiting any of these signs?
Following on from my previous post on subtle signs of pain in dogs that may benefit from physiotherapy, here is one on horses.
Physiotherapy can be an excellent option to reduce pain in your horse and rehab any injuries.

20/06/2023

💫 COULD YOUR DOG BENEFIT FROM PHYSIO? 💫

Have you noticed your dog exhibiting any of the above? All of these are potentially signs of pain, some more subtle than others.
If you notice any of these, it's important to speak with your vet as ignoring them could lead to any underlying issues becoming worse.
A tailored physiotherapy plan can be an excellent option for reducing pain and rehabbing any injuries.

17/06/2023

When choosing a physiotherapist for your animal ALWAYS make sure they are both fully qualified and insured for the job.
Veterinary physiotherapy is an unregulated profession in Ireland, so technically anyone can call themselves a vet physio regardless of qualifications.
An unqualified person can cause more harm than good for your animal, as well as eing a waste of money!
A £15 online 'Mickey Mouse' course does NOT qualify a person for the job.
I've seen some ads online recently for physio/hydrotherapy where there does not appear to be appropriate qualifications. So beware!

07/06/2023

Fantastic little write up from Ari at Carlow Dog Training Club, thank you so much!

Hats off to Ari for doing a fantastic job training and handling Gypsy! It's so important to socialise and train your dogs so that exams/assessments like this are as quick, easy, safe and stress free as possible for everyone! It certainly makes my job easier! 😅

It is essential as owners to understand when something is slightly off in our dogs.
Gypsy has had a slight gimp in his front leg as he walked, on and off, over the last few weeks. Not severe and not frequent but it shouldn't be in a year old dog.
Gypsy never had an injury to a leg before, but being a Mali dutchie, he's a tad nuts at times and he enjoys colliding with his sister. A quick check said he was a tad reluctant to stretch the leg but Ari is not a medical professional and sought the help of South East Animal Physio knowing that this should be a muscle or ligament problem as opposed to bones and joints (thank you health testing 😄)

Rightly so, something was off with Gypsy's shoulder but thankfully nothing sinister that some strength and stability training would get him back on the right track.

There's 2 reasons for telling you this.
1. Knowing your dog can prevent long term issues and serious injury. Without being checked and remedied so soon, Gypsy could have seriously injured himself in his spontaneous rabbit chases (not encouraged but we invite you to try catch him) or on the Agility course despite proper warming up and age appropriate training. A serious injury could retire a young dog or retire a dog too young later in life.
It can also prevent pain aggression. Dogs are incredible at hiding pain, however there's a certain point each dog will snap in pain or potentially bite.
For any dog, in particular restricted breeds or 'scary' dogs like Gypsy, this snap or bite can be a death sentence. The bigger the dog the more damage they can potentially cause and further the consequence.

2. We tell you this because we couldn't be happier with the service Julie provided. Belgian mals and the like are getting bad reps at the moment but as you can see Gyp sits quite happily beside Julie, with her hand on his back.
She was patient, kind, aware of body language (bringing back dogs in pain can bite), willing to step back a second and let Gypsy process and take breaks. Very knowledgeable. Very particular in movements, well able to show what she's looking at and explain to owners. We wouldn't think twice about asking Julie to come down and work with our dogs again, she was absolutely fantastic and very respectful of both owner and dog

11/05/2023

How different head positions affect limb weight distribution:

🐾 Head up and back = more weight shifted onto hind legs
🐾 Head down and forward = more weight shifted onto front legs but increases hip extension
🐾 Head round to side = weight shifted onto opposite hind leg, also uses more core muscles to balance

26/04/2023

Simple canine conditioning exercise

Useful for:
- Active hip extension (depending on step height and head position)
- Increased weight bearing in hindlimbs (depending on head position)
- Strengthening hindlimbs (mainly gluteals and hamstrings)
- Improved posture, balance, coordination and body awareness

I find a lot of dogs bear more weight than they should on their front legs, stand with their hindlimbs too far forward, have reduced hip extension range of motion and reduced gluteal and hamstring strength. This simple exercise can help improve all of the above! 💪

Progressions: increasing height of step and/or using wobble cushion
Regression: lowering height of step or starting with a flat forelimb target

24/04/2023

We say this a lot...

Ball . throwers . are . not . good . for . your . dog!

They might be having a great time, but the wear and tear on their joints is no joke.

What is it doing to your dog's joints?
- Repeated micro-trauma to muscles and cartilage is a cause of long-term damage.
- Chasing or even carrying items like a ball can shift your dogs weight distribution to their front legs, putting excessive weight through the joints of the front legs.
- Joints weakened by arthritis will be especially prone to further damage.
- High speeds can double the forces generated in the muscles.
- Braking is thought to be the most dangerous part of ball chasing and often responsible for shoulder injuries.

What can you do instead?
- Make sure to have a short warm up period before more intense exercise.
- Only ever throw the ball a short distance, on surfaces that avoid slipping and sliding.
- Throw below waist height so as to avoid jumping and don't do it repetitively
- Consider alternatives like scent work, varying location of the walk to keep things exciting, or playing hide and seek with the ball rather than playing fetch.

11/04/2023

10/04/2023

All dogs can benefit from a fitness and conditioning programme!
Injuries and accidents can happen to any dog, and a fitness and conditioning programme can help to reduce the risk of injury, or, help speed up and make rehab easier if they do get injured.

08/04/2023

Canine Fitness Month

07/04/2023

Special offer for the month of April only! Share with or tag any friends who may be interested

05/04/2023

Huge well done to Shona and Rosie competing in the dressage final last Sunday! 👏 🙌

03/04/2023

01/04/2023

💫 CANINE FITNESS MONTH 💫

06/03/2023

💫 WOUND HEALING💫

One of the more unusual ways that physiotherapy can help your animal is the use of phototherapy for wound healing.

Especially helpful for those animals where it is difficult to do invasive cleaning and bandaging procedures every day!

Phototherapy is highly effective, non-invasive, quick and simple, and suitable for all types of wounds.

01/02/2023

19/01/2023

Top things for all new puppy owners to teach their puppy (from a physio perspective). As a physio, a lot of post op/injury rehab uses movement and exercises, so it makes sense to teach some of the basic ones to your puppy now! We can't completely prevent accidents and injuries!

1. Crate training.
I find it's extremely useful for your dog to be crate trained from the start! If your dog becomes injured, vets will most often prescribe cage rest and if your dog is not used to a crate, they will become very anxious and upset, potentially causing further injury.

2. Lead walking to heel
One of the most basic exercises I give to owners is slow lead walking on a SHORT lead (ie to heel). It's one of the most effective basic rehab exercises, walking slowly and in a controlled manner will essentially get your dog to bear weight on each paw individually. If your dog can't walk properly on a lead (ie no pulling, dragging or bounding along on a long/flexi lead), then the rehab will take much, much longer! Yes, movement is therapy BUT it must be CONTROLLED. I've seen far too many dogs without any sort of lead training.

3. A good sit
Again, another basic movement but so effective when done properly. A good sit means the dog is sitting square with all legs even, hind legs tucked into the side (ie not with one or both hind legs sticking out). Sit-to-stands are similar to us humans doing squats, and are a very good effective exercise to build up muscles after injury. I've seen so many dogs now without this basic command

4. Lie down
Another basic movement, and a sort of variation of sit. I'd often combine this with a sit, and it brings in some movement of the forelimbs. Another good thing to add would be to teach them to wait, so they're not jumping back up straight away for treats etc.

5. Bow
Probably harder to teach than sit and lie down, but a useful one to add weight bearing movement and mobility to the forelimbs.

6. Wave/give paw/high five
Another basic forelimb movement to encourage and help invrease active range of movement of the forelimb. It's always a good idea to teach your og to do this with both front paws!

All of these basic movements can be added to/tweaked in different ways for injury rehab, but if they already know these then any rehab will be far easier and more fun too!

Another useful one to add would be muzzle training (for all dogs, not just restricted breeds). Injuries cause pain, and when any dog is sore they may snap or bite. If they are muzzle trained then this makes any treatment safer for everyone handling the dog.

These are all things I taught my own dog Ted when he was a puppy! I would also highly recommend getting a good dog trainer on board! There's a lot more I could add to this, but these are some good basics to get started with your puppy!

As dog owners we are responsible socialising our dogs from the start, and ensuring the health and safety of both our dogs and the people around. I understand that many people have rescue dogs who can be reactive in different situations, however, some basic training will help minimise risks and, very importantly, increase the bond with your dog.