Hello again!
On the second day of our canine rehab training we were able to delve a little more in depth into some of the modalities used in rehab. While we do have laser therapy at Allandale, many of these other treatment options were unfamiliar to me prior to the training.
Today I was able to practice a few of them on live dogs who had the misfortune of being owned by veterinarians and vet techs and thus were “volunteered” to be our practice patients 🙂
Here are a few modalities that I was able to practice:
Therapeutic ultrasound– This is the use of sound energy to affect biological tissues. Therapeutic ultrasound can be used to reduce discomfort at trigger points, help with muscle soreness following overuse injury, and reduce pain associated with osteoarthritis. It has also been shown to be beneficial with tissue healing.
Shock wave therapy– This involves using high energy focused sound waves to affect various biological responses at the cellular level. It has been shown to speed healing and increase quality of healing of soft tissues and bone. Like many of the other modalities, it also has pain relieving properties. It is used frequently in rehab for osteoarthritis and tendon injuries as well as chronic wound healing.
Neuromuscular Electrical stimulation– This is a form of electrical stimulation that causes a muscle contraction to help with muscle weakness associated with a variety of neurologic and orthopedic conditions. NMES can also reduce pain.
The key with rehab seems to be learning as much about your patient and their needs as possible, then taking that information and coming up with the best possible plan to help them reach their goals. I’m excited to learn more about ways to improve the quality of life of my patients!
More to come soon,
Dr. Mohammed