Treatments and therapies

Pets with mobility problems usually have more than one thing going on, a primary problem, and the compensations built on top of it. Most sessions combine several of these in one visit, chosen for the pet in front of us rather than applied from a template.

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Two practitioners treating a dog on the floor with a handheld shockwave probe

Hands-on therapy

Chiropractic care Quiet, hands-on work finding where your pet has stopped moving freely, and gently giving that movement back.
Rehabilitation exercises Strengthening, balance, range of motion and gait retraining, with a home program between visits. Most of the progress happens here.
Therapeutic massage The science and art of stimulating the muscles, releasing what has been overworked while your pet compensated for something else.

Equipment-based therapy

Water treadmill Buoyancy carries much of your pet’s weight, so the legs can work before the joints could manage it on land.
Laser therapy Light that penetrates deep into tissue without damaging it. Surgery-free, drug-free, and most pets doze through it.
Shockwave therapy (ESWT) Acoustic energy for problems that have stalled, chronic tendon and ligament issues, arthritic joints, slow-healing bone.
Magnetic therapy (EMTT) Nothing touches your pet. Reaches bone, tendon, muscle, nerve and ligament injuries that are hard to get at any other way.
PEMF therapy (tPEMF) Lower energy over a longer session, which is why this is the one many Pet Parents carry on at home between visits.
Deep heat therapy (TECAR) Warms tissue from the inside, reaching chronic pain that sits well below where a hot pack can get.

Support and the longer view

Ice and heat therapy Cold in the first days after an injury, warmth once that phase passes. Simple, cheap, and usually the daily part of a home program.
Braces, carts and orthotic devices Choosing the right device and fitting it properly. We do not sell them, so we have no reason to prefer one over another.
Weight management For a pet whose joints already hurt, this is the single factor working hardest against everything else being tried.
Rehab 4 Cats The same therapies, at a cat’s pace.

How treatments get chosen

Not from a menu. The first appointment is a rehabilitation evaluation, which is not a diagnostic medical assessment, your veterinarian manages the medical condition. We assess how your pet moves, what they are avoiding, and what can be rebuilt.

What comes out of that is a plan with something measurable in it, and a home program you can continue between visits. It changes as your pet changes.

At your appointment, our doctors may use several techniques in a single session, chosen for exactly what your pet needs that day.

Questions

Questions we get asked

What treatments does Rehab 4 Pets offer?

Water treadmill hydrotherapy, laser therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, magnetic therapy including EMTT and tPEMF, deep heat therapy using TECAR, heat and cryotherapy, therapeutic massage, animal chiropractic, therapeutic rehabilitation exercise, braces, carts and orthotic devices, and weight management. Cats are treated with the same therapies at a cat’s pace.

How do you decide which treatments my pet needs?

Not from a menu. The first appointment is a rehabilitation evaluation, not a diagnostic medical assessment, since your veterinarian manages the medical condition. We assess how your pet moves, what they are avoiding and what can be rebuilt, and the plan comes from that. Most sessions combine several therapies in one visit.

Can several treatments be used in one appointment?

Yes, and usually are. Pets with mobility problems rarely have one thing going on, so a session might combine laser on a sore joint, hands-on work, exercise and time in the water treadmill.

Do you treat cats as well as dogs?

Yes. The same therapies are used, including the underwater treadmill, with shorter and quieter sessions at the cat’s pace.