ANIMAL Physiotherapy Services
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ANIMAL Physiotherapy Services
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Helen NicholsonWho is Helen Nicholson?I am a qualified Animal Physiotherapist and PhD student who lives in the lower Blue Mountains with my husband, three kids and three dogs. The following photos show me performing a practical demonstration in Japan; lecturing in Japan; and demonstrating a practical technique in England.
I am very proud that my hard work obtaining my unique combination of clinical experience and qualifications makes me the most experienced and most highly qualified small animal physiotherapist in Australia. I am honoured that so many veterinarians and owners trust me with their pets' care and invite you to read on about my qualifications and experience. Back to TopWhat are her qualifications?My interest in muscles, movement analysis and improving movement patterns began at the age of 16, when I trained as a gymnastics coach and later a gymnastics judge. My gymnastics career had to make way for my physiotherapy career, however, when I graduated from the University of Queensland in 1996 with a four-year Bachelor of Physiotherapy degree and moved interstate to work with humans with a variety of muscular, orthopaedic, airways and neurological conditions. My fascination with applying my human skills to animals had already begun, however, as whilst at university I had worked with our local vet to keep our old Labrador (Holly) in one piece. After seeing a picture of a snake receiving physiotherapy in a textbook, I decided to take Holly regularly to the vet, who would explain what Holly's problem was, ask what I would do for a human with the same problem, and together we would work out how to perform that kind of treatment on Holly. It worked well, with Holly managing to last until the week before my final university exam, dying at the ripe old age of 15. She was a good old dog and still missed to this day, as you'll surely understand. So with Holly as my inspiration, I enrolled in the first course in canine physiotherapy in Australia in 1999, and went on to undertake practical study under British-trained and Canadian-trained physiotherapists and theoretical study via a correspondence course from the American Physical Therapy Association until the Australian Masters program got underway in 2003. The Masters in Animal Studies (Animal Physiotherapy) program was only the second degree of its type in the world, and I was part of the first graduating class in 2004, working as a peer tutor for the canine practical elements during the two-year degree. My Masters research project was on the use of goniometry (a plastic measuring device a bit like a protractor) for hip, stifle (knee) and hock (ankle) passive range of motion assessment in racing Greyhounds. Upon finishing my Masters, I became the first student in Australia (and indeed that I know of in the world) to enroll in a PhD in Small Animal Physiotherapy. My PhD thesis is on the use of human-standard physiotherapy for dogs in veterinary intensive care units and is due for completion in May 2008 after a short delay to have my third baby! Back to TopWhat is her experience?Clinical Experience: I started ANIMAL Physiotherapy Services in June 1999 (it was then called Canine Physiotherapy Services) and I now work at a variety of specialist and general veterinary practices in Sydney, on the Central Coast and in the Blue Mountains. Although I have a small amount of experience with working with horses, I prefer small animals and have had referred for physiotherapy: dogs; cats; bats; a kangaroo; a wombat; a rabbit; and, amongst other interesting species, a goat and a blue-tongue lizard! Teaching Experience: I have taught overseas in Italy, the UK and Japan and have several more invitations to work in other countries after finishing my PhD. I have also taught Vets, Physios and Vet Nurses in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, including as a peer tutor for the Masters degree in Queensland in 2003 and 2004. I was thrilled to be Keynote Speaker at the ACPAT Spring Seminar in the UK in 2006. Publishing Experience: I have published in a variety of forums: I have had several articles published in dog magazines of various descriptions; have contributed to a textbook published by Blackwell; and have had an article printed in the Australian Veterinary Journal.
The textbook is available through Amazon.com (the above image is extracted from http://www.amazon.com/Veterinary-Physiotherapy-Assessment-Treatment-Rehabilitation/dp/1405131950) and is: McGowan, Goff and Stubbs (eds) 2007. Animal Physiotherapy: Assessment, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Animals. Blackwell, UK. ISBN-10 1405131950; ISBN-13 978-1405131957. The article in the Australian Veterinary Journal (the above image is extracted from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/toc/avj/85/6) is: Nicholson, Osmotherly, Smith, McGowan (2007). Determinants of passive hip range of motion in adult Greyhounds. Australian Veterinary Journal 85:(6)217-221. Back to Top For More Information Contact: |
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