Just as important as it is to restrict your pet’s activity, we must also ensure that your pet has appropriate physiotherapy, so that they heal successfully.

 

It is always encouraged to pursue structured physiotherapy for your pet – Ask your veterinarian about nearby physiotherapy facilities that they use and when it would be suitable for your pet to have their first visit. Generally, around 6 weeks after surgery is appropriate for most procedures. These facilities tend to have a long wait period prior to being able to get an appointment, so make this one of your first “to-do’s”.

 

The right amount of physiotherapy will help your pet:

1. Maintain muscle mass and flexibility – Muscle atrophy and stiffness are very common after surgery, and they are a major source of limping and prolonged recovery.

2. Maintain joint health and range of motion – A healthy joint is a moving joint. This is because our cartilage gets its nutrients through joint fluid, which is only has contact with if we circulate that fluid through the joint through movement and weight bearing.

3. Promote bone and tendon healing – When there is an injury to a tendon or bone, the body will attempt to heal that tendon or bone based on the forces that it senses nearby. This means that if your pet has a fracture that has stabilized with an implant, we need controlled physiotherapy to tell that bone what type of forces it can expect to encourage faster healing, without overloading their implant