Hi Laurie,
Hope all is well! I will be seeing a Maine Coon, who was diagnosed with
Feline aortic thromboembolism about 4 wks ago. He is starting to regain
motor function, by sounds of it he can maintain static standing posture but
not dynamic posture when ambulating and owner thinks he is not painful.
Cardiologist confirmed there were no structural abnormalities, bloods were
normal and so cause is unknown and mentioned could be due to infection or
neoplasia causing a prothrombotic reaction
I am just wondering are there any considerations or contraindications when
rehabbing this patient due to paraparesis being associated with a blood
clot rather than disc material. I understand the pathophysiology, just
looking for your perspective on rehabilitating this patient.
Many many thanks, any help at all is much appreciated,
D
Feline aortic thromboembolism
Re: Feline aortic thromboembolism
Fascinating!
Okay… so I’ve not seen a case such as this, but my thoughts would be to come up with a program that involves short bouts of functional exercises / activities to start neuro rehab on the cat.
I’d not stress him out cardiovascularly. But I would also caution the owners (based on the cardiologist’s speculations) that an unavoidable recurrence could occur based on the unknown underlying pathology.
Otherwise - any neuro rehab (minus UWT or Pool, I guess is what I’d have the most concerns about.)
I hope this helps! My thought processing anyways!
Cheers,
Laurie
Okay… so I’ve not seen a case such as this, but my thoughts would be to come up with a program that involves short bouts of functional exercises / activities to start neuro rehab on the cat.
I’d not stress him out cardiovascularly. But I would also caution the owners (based on the cardiologist’s speculations) that an unavoidable recurrence could occur based on the unknown underlying pathology.
Otherwise - any neuro rehab (minus UWT or Pool, I guess is what I’d have the most concerns about.)
I hope this helps! My thought processing anyways!
Cheers,
Laurie
LAURIE EDGE-HUGHES
Re: Feline aortic thromboembolism
Hi Laurie,
Many thanks for your thoughts and advise. I greatly appreciate it. I saw this handsome feline patient a few days before your reply. His temperament allowed for small amounts of manual and movement therapies.
On assessment he had reduced motor function and sensory reception distal to bilateral stifles, muscle atrophy and hypertonicity of all muscles of bilateral pelvic limbs (except his hip flexors which were slightly hypertonic) and atrophy of lumbar Epaxials, he also had active trigger points over bilateral Latissimus dorsi. Both hind feet were warm to touch. I focused on sensory integration work - tickling of paws, assisted standing with tickling over bilateral Gluts and Hamstrings, adv re grooming of pelvic limbs and how to tie this in with rehab to increase sensory input to this area to encourage muscle engagement, also light pinching with traction to encourage flexion of lower limb worked well for re-educating/maintaining gait pattern. I basically treated him like a neuro patient with re-education of standing via bum lift and dynamic posture with assisted walking - assisting protraction from distal limbs worked best in his case- giving him the support he needed while also ensuring the plantar aspect of his feet remained in contact with ground. I advised to concentrate on short spurts of exercise on non-slip surface , like the length of a runner rug in hall or yoga mat. I did very gentle petrissage and stroking massage over shoulders, thoracic limbs, back and pelvic limb musculature, and taught owner how to do all of these. I advised to be organic with his rehab as being a gorgeous feline, he is the boss!!
I also did pulsed electromagnetic therapy and phototherapy over trigger points . He loved that part, and tolerated everything else in short sessions. I also advised re adjusting environment to meet his needs. I will review him as necessary so if he progresses or deteriorates. He is a diabetic and gets quite stressed in cat carrier in car. His owner is very capable and had been doing a wonderful job with him anyway, so our session was really a problem solving, thinking outside the box kinda session and honing in on where the owner should focus her rehab time.
Anyway I'll stop waffling. Thanks again, it can be a lonely rehab world in the south of Ireland so I appreciate your advise.
All the best,
D
Many thanks for your thoughts and advise. I greatly appreciate it. I saw this handsome feline patient a few days before your reply. His temperament allowed for small amounts of manual and movement therapies.
On assessment he had reduced motor function and sensory reception distal to bilateral stifles, muscle atrophy and hypertonicity of all muscles of bilateral pelvic limbs (except his hip flexors which were slightly hypertonic) and atrophy of lumbar Epaxials, he also had active trigger points over bilateral Latissimus dorsi. Both hind feet were warm to touch. I focused on sensory integration work - tickling of paws, assisted standing with tickling over bilateral Gluts and Hamstrings, adv re grooming of pelvic limbs and how to tie this in with rehab to increase sensory input to this area to encourage muscle engagement, also light pinching with traction to encourage flexion of lower limb worked well for re-educating/maintaining gait pattern. I basically treated him like a neuro patient with re-education of standing via bum lift and dynamic posture with assisted walking - assisting protraction from distal limbs worked best in his case- giving him the support he needed while also ensuring the plantar aspect of his feet remained in contact with ground. I advised to concentrate on short spurts of exercise on non-slip surface , like the length of a runner rug in hall or yoga mat. I did very gentle petrissage and stroking massage over shoulders, thoracic limbs, back and pelvic limb musculature, and taught owner how to do all of these. I advised to be organic with his rehab as being a gorgeous feline, he is the boss!!
I also did pulsed electromagnetic therapy and phototherapy over trigger points . He loved that part, and tolerated everything else in short sessions. I also advised re adjusting environment to meet his needs. I will review him as necessary so if he progresses or deteriorates. He is a diabetic and gets quite stressed in cat carrier in car. His owner is very capable and had been doing a wonderful job with him anyway, so our session was really a problem solving, thinking outside the box kinda session and honing in on where the owner should focus her rehab time.
Anyway I'll stop waffling. Thanks again, it can be a lonely rehab world in the south of Ireland so I appreciate your advise.
All the best,
D