Laurie's Blogs.

This is a blog that I am repurposing and expanding upon from my Canine Fitness Centre website.  http://www.caninefitness.com/index.php?pid=35

(Feel free to link to this article from your own blog.)

I had no idea!  I just came upon a blog that stated that March 1st was national Get Physical Therapy First day in the USA!  Who knew such a day existed? 

It was a ‘human physical therapy blog’, and it went on to talk about the top 5 reasons to get physio.  Here’s the synopsis

1. If you experience dull, recurring pain this is likely a case where physio can be instrumental.  Without it, pain may linger and most likely return repeatedly.
2. Little injuries.  Physio for minor injuries was previously just reserved for high-level athletes.  They needed it to function at their best.  But why not you as well?  The main goal of this type of treatment is to prevent major injuries and to keep muscles healthy and strong in order to support the injured area.
3. Your neck is killing you!  Yes, everyone with a desk job or those of you that spend a good portion of your day with your arms out in front of you (i.e. any healthcare worker!)  You folks are at a higher risk of neck and back problems, and if left unattended, can often result in postural adaptations.
4. Achy arthritic joints.  Your therapist has the best skill set for prescribing exercises and managing pain.
5. A serious sudden injury that is causing acute, sharp pain.  In this case a physio can help to resolve the issue or guide you towards the best fix (i.e. sometimes that might be recommending a surgical consult).

Original source:

http://www.clinicient.com/blog-insight/blog/getpt1st-top-reasons-to-visit-a-pt-first

And at the bottom of the blog, there was a link that said “More Reasons” and when I click there, what showed up was a list of 10 injuries / conditions that really do warrant physical therapy:

1. Fibromyalgia.  (Now, as far as we know, dogs don’t get this.  But then again, we’re not 100% sure in human medicine what fibromyalgia is all about… I think researchers could look at that to be honest, why don’t dogs tend to get Fibromyalgia?)
2. Arthritis.  (Yes, we can help all arthritic dogs to some extent!)
3. Sports injury prevention.  (Yes, all canine athletes should see us!)
4. njury rehabilitation. (Hands down… nobody else addresses this!)
5. Desk job.  (Dog relevance?  Hmmmm…. Maybe not!)
6. Repetitive use conditions (I would put supraspinatus & biceps tendon issues into this category in dogs, especially in the agility or flyball athletes.)
7. Acute or lingering pain.  (Pain = needs rehab.  Check!)
8. Swelling or other changes – especially after a workout. (Good thought!)
9. Fall prevention.  (So from a canine perspective, I would look at this as a need for geriatric dogs, & neurologic dogs to need rehab)
10. Adolescent conditions. (For us, I read hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and the need for quarterly checkups during the growth of a puppy to a young dog!)

Now, if I were to expand upon this blog, I would point out that rehabilitation can provide pain management that can augment medication, and/or deal with issues where medications could be counter productive (i.e. NSAIDS & tendinopathy lesions), or reduce the need for medication.  So I’d make one whole category read:  Non-pharmaceutical pain management.  People & dog owners are looking for that!  

And what’s at risk if you don’t deal with pain?

Sudden injuries or dangerous situations (i.e. a suddenly torn knee ligament or putting your hand on a hot stove element) should cause pain as a way to protect the body.  You either stop moving or using the joint in the case of the knee ligament, or you pull your hand away from the element in the case of the hot stove.  This is when pain is good as a mechanism to protect you from further injury.  If you deal with the injury and manage the pain, then it should go away and all should be well.  But in some cases where pain is not adequately managed (and sometimes when the system goes awry), you can end up with chronic pain.

You may not be familiar with the terms ‘wind-up pain’ or ‘central sensitization’.  These are medical terms that describe a phenomenon where the body gets so used to signaling the brain about pain, that the body starts to ‘over-deliver’ the pain signals & the brain ‘over-registers’ the pain.  Thereby making minor pains seem like big pains, and sometimes even non-painful stimuli (i.e. petting) to be misinterpreted as pain.  When this happens, literally EVERYTHING becomes about the pain!  And when that happens, it’s hard to reverse.  

So what can be done when it comes to your rehab patient?  

Advocate for treating injuries when they’re smaller and before they become big issues.  Advocate to better pain management adjunctive medications after surgeries.  I am continually surprised by how many general practice vets are not as ‘in to’ pain management as I think they should be. You may be familiar with the standard NSAIDs that are prescribed, but either speak to the regular vet or ask your clients to discuss with their regular vet adjunctive medications such as Tramadol, Gabapentin, or Amantadine.  There are 3 ‘additional’ pain medications (i.e. they combine well with NSAIDS) that can help to manage pain in the post-operative stage for any surgery.

Start rehab soon after a surgery or major injury.  Physio / Rehab is all about gradual or staged intervention.  For example after a surgery our primary goal is pain management, settling of inflammation and helping the injured tissues to heal. Only after we accomplish these do we move on to strengthening or functional retraining.  We still hear from clients that their vet told them that it’s too early to go to rehab / physio.  What this tells me is that the regular vet doesn’t understand how physical therapy is ‘staged’.  So it’s our job to educate our referral sources.

Wishing you and your fur-balls a pain free week!