Hydrotherapy
A Personal and Gentle Approach to Veterinary Physiotherapy
Your local countryside veterinary physiotherapist that cares
Black Cat Physiotherapy adheres to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and will never work on an animal without prior veterinary consent.
Sam
All dogs swim in a buoyancy aid, as this helps to build confidence and we can concentrate on the therapy at hand.
Mazikeen
The treadmill has more total control over how much support we give the animal, compared with the pool.
What is the difference?
Swimming Pool
What are the benefits?
This is a reduced weight bearing form of exercise and is used to treat disease, injury or illness. Whilst swimming, most of the muscles used for everyday movement are involved, but joint stress from hard ground is avoided. This helps to reduce pain and allows for easier movement.
The warmth of the water increases circulation and flow of blood to the muscles. In turn this helps the muscles relax, which reduces pain and stiffness. By improving circulation, swelling is reduced and the hydrostatic pressure of the water has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Another benefit of swimming is the building of muscle mass. Due to the resistance of the water, movement is more difficult. So is very beneficial in building muscles without pain. If there is a particular limb that has muscle wastage, we can swim the animal in such a way to make the target limb work harder, but with reduced discomfort. Improvements can usually be seen in a very short time.
Older animals with hind limb weakness benefit hugely from swimming as we encourage use of the hind limbs with various aids, this in turn increases circulation and also reduces further muscle wastage.
All dogs swim in a buoyancy aid, as this helps to build confidence and we can concentrate on the therapy at hand.
Aquatic Treadmill
What are the benefits:
Your pet can start their rehabilitation and recovery in the treadmill a couple of weeks before using the pool, where it may be more appropriate.
The treadmill has more total control over how much support we give the animal, compared with the pool. This can be determined by how much water is in the treadmill and also the speed of the treadmill is adjusted to achieve the correct gait pattern.
It is ideal for re-educating the movement of the limbs after injury or surgery and is particularly useful for making the transition from water to dry land gradually by increasing the load on the affected limb for the animal.
Treatment can be more specific and targeted than in the pool. Each session is adjusted according to the patients’ needs. Owner’s feedback is considered from the previous session in order to amend the session for your animal.
My passion is to use a whole animal approach to their physical, mental and emotional problems – enabling them to be the very best version of themselves.
Prevention is better than cure
By incorporating home modifications, diet changes, regular targeted exercise and more helps to ensure that the need for chronic medication is reduced or eliminated for as long as possible.
Did you know?
Hydrotherapy can be very beneficial for dogs, but also cats and rabbits.
Contact me to discuss your needs.
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