Which soft tissue conditions can benefit from physiotherapy?
Soft tissue physiotherapy can improve issues or injuries relating to;
- Muscles
- Fascia
- Tendons
- Ligaments
- Nerves
- Skin (wounds or skin grafts which are not healing well)
How will physiotherapy help?
Soft tissue treatment is aimed toward reducing pain and inflammation, and maximising quality and speed of healing. The quality of healing is very important. When soft tissues such as muscle, tendon or ligament are damaged the area is repaired with scar tissue. This scar tissue needs to mimic the tissue it is surrounded by eg) muscle scar needs to have the characteristics of muscle and tendon scar have the characteristics of tendon etc. This is important to maximise future quality of movement and minimise risk of re-injury. Physiotherapy aims to optimise the quality of the scar tissue.
Treatment and exercises will also aim to rebalance your dogs whole body by addressing any compensations your dog may have developed. Optimal recovery is achieved through improving tissue health, strength, and suppleness, alongside overall flexibility, balance and proprioception.
What happens in a physiotherapy session?
Each session comprises of an update from the owner, a static and dynamic assessment, treatment, exercises, and home care advice. Treatment will address any compensatory issues as well as directly treating the primary issue.
A home care plan will be designed for each dog according to his individual circumstances.
Treatments
If you are interested in the specific treatments we have available please take a look at our Service page
If you are unsure whether your dog may benefit from physiotherapy please feel free to call us to discuss