As a non-surgical disease of the spinal cord, rehabilitation has a huge role to play in managing dogs diagnosed with FCE. Following diagnosis one of our animal physios will assess your dog and design a treatment plan unique for them. Maintenance of physical function and prevention of secondary compensatory changes is vital to your dog making good progress throughout the rehabilitation…
Does your dog have noisy knees? Or do you? Do you notice some popping, snapping, catching, clicking, crunching, grinding, grating or clunking at the knee? It may be an issue or may not, Here we dive into the most common causes of knee noise. In order to differentiate between physiological and pathological causes of knee noise, the presence of swelling…
WHAT ARE TOEGRIPS? If your dog can walk on rugs or carpet, but struggles on slippery surfaces such as hardwood floors, ToeGrips® dog nail grips can help. The non-slip grips fit on your dog’s toenails to enable instant traction and improved mobility. Dogs use their toenails for traction. They flex their paws and engage their nails like soccer cleats…
I write this blog as it is something I am experiencing firsthand with our beloved Goldie, Butterscotch as she enters the later stages of her life and begins to slow down. As our senior dogs begin to age, they tend to sleep more and have much less stamina on walks. It can be very easy to simply let them become…
Of all the conditions we see at Melbourne Animal Physiotherapy, the most common orthopedic condition would be CCL rupture or cranial cruciate ligament rupture. This is commonly understood as ACL, or Anterior cruciate ligament rupture, in humans, but due to the terminology of the dog, it is called CCL. The most common presentation of CCL rupture is after a quick…
Does your dog experience difficulty getting up, tires easily or seems stiff? Arthritis may be the cause. The most common form is osteoarthritis, resulting in degeneration of the joints. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage protecting the bones of the joint is destroyed. The joint loses its cushion, causing friction between bones, leading to pain and decreased mobility in affected joints.…
Animal Physiotherapists work in consultation with veterinarians to give your pet the best chance of recovery from injury and/or surgery. After discussing the case with the vet, the physiotherapist performs a thorough assessment and formulates an individual physiotherapy program for the animal. You are given a home exercise program which you are taught to do completely prior to leaving the…
Hydrotherapy for dogs has become increasingly popular over recent years. Humans have known for millennia the healing properties of water for injuries and aching joints. It has become more well known for animals initially by way of the horse racing industry, revealing the conditioning and healing benefits of allowing horses to walk in the water, the practice was soon adopted…
I became a physiotherapist in 2001, after graduating with honors from Melbourne University. I immediately commenced work in a private practice close to home, and still love helping clients with a wide range of injuries, especially care through the perinatal period, and pelvic health physiotherapy.