Rehabilitation Center at West Coast
When would my animal need physical rehabilitation?
Animals need physical rehabilitation just like humans in situations like post-op surgery, onset of aging and weakness that comes with age related conditions, traumatic and sport related injury and neurological conditions.
Therapy can help them regain comfort and perform activities that they were unable to do prior.
Physical fitness and conditioning is important for longevity of your pet’s life.
Physical Rehabilitation
The goal of Physical Rehabilitation is to improve the quality of life and decrease pain.
Passive range of motion - (PROM) is accomplished through flexion and extension of the joints to its limits. This therapy technique can significantly increase an animal's range of motion and decreases joint pain, improving its quality of life.
Balance Exercise - Balance exercises make use of equipment designed to strengthen weak muscles and builds limps affected by atrophy. These exercises include balancing on physio-balls, wobble boards and balance boards. Balance exercises force the pet place weight on the affected limp and help build muscle. These exercises may shorten recovery time from surgical repairs and help improve coordination and balance.
Strengthening exercises - These include walking up/down stair's, sit stands, standing on 2 or 3 legs, and backing. These exercises promote healing by strengthen the muscles in the injured area and increasing the range of motion with animals with degenerative diseases.
Hydrotherapy/Water Treadmill
Water buoyancy reduces gravity, diminishing concussive forces
Allows early intervention and quicker recovery times for animals.
Water provides resistance throughout the range of motion, enabling dogs with stiff joint to strengthen their strides and increase the benefits of exercise while minimizing the pain.
Warm water assist the pain reduction and help increase the blood flow that will aid nerve and muscle growth
Class IV Laser Therapy
Laser therapy is the non-invasive use of laser energy to generate a photochemical response is damaged or dysfunctional tissue.
The laser enters the tissue, alters cell membrane permeability, and at the cellular level is absorbed in the mitochondria of the cell creating physiological changes such as:
Rapid cell growth. The laser accelerates cellular reproduction and growth.
Faster wound healing. The laser stimulates fibroblast development in damaged tissue.
Increased metabolic activity. Helps the body increase output of specific enzymes, greater oxygen to blood cells and more effective immune response are induced by laser.
Reduced fibrous tissue formation. The laser reduces the formation of scar tissue following tissue damage from cuts, scratches, burns, or following surgery.
Anti-inflammatory action. The laser reduces swelling caused by bruising or inflammation of joints to give improved joint mobility.
Increased vascular activity. The laser stimulates lymph and blood circulation, to allow the affected tissue to have the best possible circulation.
Stimulated nerve function. Slow recovery of nerve function in damaged tissue can result in "dead" limbs or numb areas. Laser will speed the process of nerve cell reconnection to bring the numb areas back to life.
Laser also increases the amplitude of action potentials to optimize muscle action.
Therapeutic Ultrasound
Ultrasound is it another non-invasive therapeutic addition in being effective for treating pain and swelling. Ultrasound uses a very high frequency sound wave that when applied to tissue via a probe head, causes the molecules in its path to vibrate at a microscopic level. This vibration is heat-producing and helps penetrate deep into injured tissues. This thermal effect of therapeutic ultrasound facilitates an increase in blood flow and enzyme activity in muscles, tendons, and ligaments helping cause a micromassage effect, useful to tissue healing by:
Increase the flexibility of ligaments, tendons, scar tissue and joint capsules
Anti-inflammatory action by decreasing swelling, and speeding the rate of healing.
Reduction in pain and muscle spasms
Improve the healing of injured tissue
Rejuvenate tissues in old injuries by breaking scar tissue down and stimulating better blood flow improves movement in places with the injury.