Education - Learning

As mentioned on our homepage, Helen's PhD thesis was recently accepted subject to minor changes. The thesis is called 'Physiotherapy in the Canine Intensive Care Setting' and looks at how human-standard physiotherapy techniques can be implemented for critically ill dogs. At least one cat has already benefited from the research, too, and the thesis represents three years of full-time learning on Helen's part.

Helen has previously taught in Japan, Italy, the USA and the UK, as well as in three states in Australia. Helen's favourite topics are neurological and orthopaedic physiotherapy for small animals, although she is experienced in teaching muscular and airways physiotherapy topics, too.
Helen regularly holds workshops and practical courses in Sydney - please enquire if you would like more information.

Animal Physiotherapy, Creature Features - ABC, June 20th, 2005 - Helen and the team at The Animal Referral Hospital were featured on this really cool kids' show!
Animal Physiotherapy, Sunrise - Channel 7, November 9th, 2004 - Helen spoke with David, Mel and Rachelle about Animal Physiotherapy, the TENS pain-relieving machine, and demonstrated a technique with Minnou the stunt dog.
Animal Physiotherapy, ABC News, July 2004 - Helen was interviewed for the national news bulletin (played on different dates in different states) about the Master of Animal Studies (Animal Physiotherapy) program.

How do you become a pet physiotherapist?

• In Australia, you first have to be a qualified human physiotherapist (four years at university) and then you need to do an additional two years at university studying a Masters degree in Animal Physiotherapy. I am the first that we know of in the world to submit my PhD in small animal physiotherapy, which was an extra three years at university.
• There are different rules in different countries, so please google the national physiotherapy association in your country and contact them for current requirements if you are interested in becoming an animal physiotherapist yourself.
• I also run regular workshops and practical courses - please contact me directly for more information.

What sort of conditions are appropriate for physiotherapy?

• Pretty much anything you'd see a human physio for, we can treat in animals, too. We just modify what we do to compensate for the fact that they don't speak and they have different anatomy and postures than people. Pets don't lie, though, so that always makes it much easier than working on some people!
• As a general guide, I always say 'don't MOAN - see the physio' where 'MOAN' stands for:

        Muscular - e.g. strains, trigger points, imbalances, weaknesses
        Orthopaedic - e.g. fractures, cruciate ligaments, hip or elbow dysplasia, arthritis
        Airways - e.g. brachycephalic (short-faced) dogs that require surgery, pneumonia, bronchitis-type conditions
        Neurological - e.g. sciatic nerve palsy, spinal fractures, disc surgery, brachial plexus lesions
What species do you treat?

• Although I am trained to treat both large and small animals, I only work with small species because I'm too much of a weakling to work on horses too much! I have treated dogs of all sizes; cats; rabbits; bats; a kangaroo; a wombat; a blue-tongue lizard and even been referred a goat! A vet also spoke with me about a turtle, but I was a little horrified at the method suggested to get him to come out of his shell if he hid, so that didn't go ahead!

What happens at Physio?

• The process starts with a referral from your vet, which is both a legal requirement and necessary for the safety of your pet, so we don't miss anything important. If your vet is at the hospital you will be seeing me at, they will arrange the referral, but if you are coming from a different hospital, please ask your vet to print you a 'history printout' or 'referral' and also to bring along any x-rays that have been taken (or reports if the x-rays themselves can't come).

• When we meet, I assess your pet to determine a physiotherapy 'problem list' to address with an indivdualised 'homework' exercise program to be practised at home as many days a week as you can manage with your busy lifestyle.

• You then practise the 'homework' and send me a 'progress report' each Monday so that we can monitor your pet's progress without running up your bill any more than necessary. (This also saves me unnecessary drives in from the Blue Mountains, so please make sure you send in your reports!)

• The physio's job is therefore like a 'coach' and when your pet has mastered the first 'homework' it is then my job to upgrade it. Occasionally, we have pets that have problems mastering their homework, in which case I will review them to determine a 'plan b homework' instead (e.g. your pet may require some safe electrotherapy techniques to 'boost' or 'back up' the modified homework plan).

Can't you do all my pet's physio?

• Although most owners prefer to have something to do at home to give them the ability to actively contribute to their pet's recovery, we do have very busy owners who don't have time for homework, or those who are going away or don't feel confident enough to do the homework themselves. Although in all cases it is best to have at least one short session of physio homework per day in a familiar environment with people your pet trusts, we do have staff trained at several hospitals so that pets can be admitted on a day stay or longer inpatient basis for the staff to perform the homework instead. Please note that this service is provided at an extra fee, which varies depending on how much homework your pet requires.

Will physio hurt my pet?

• No! Your pet should never, ever, ever be worse after physio or sore during it! We work on gentle hands-on techniques and food-rewarded exercises so your pet is motivated to work towards their recovery.

How often will we need to come to physio?

• It really does depend on what is wrong with your pet and how quickly they are recovering. At one end of the spectrum, some paralysed pets will need to come weekly until they start to take their first steps, while  other paralysed pets recover very quickly and soon move to fortnightly or monthly sessions to further challenge their stretngth and co-ordination. 
• At the other end of the spectrum, some pets with very mild arthritis or sporting injuries may only need two sessions spaced two to four weeks apart. 
• As a general rule, the more homework you do and the more progress reports you send in (allowing me to fine-tune the program without bringing you in) the less frequently you need to come to physio and the less you pay overall!

Where do we see you and how do we make an appointment?

• This information is on the contacts page. Please feel free to book through the hospital or to contact me directly if you have more questions before deciding whether physiotherapy is the right option for you and your pet.

Is physio expensive and is it covered by my pet insurance?

• Although pet physio is more expensive per session than most human physios, you bring your pet to physio much less frequently than you would for the same problem in a human, because you're in doing the homework program on a near-daily basis. Perhaps if I'd bribed my human patients with Tim Tams, I wouldn't have gotten bored of human physio, as I would earn far more working with them!
• Because you have veterinary referral to come to physio and the physio is performed in a veterinary hospital by a qualified physiotherapist, provided your policy covers your pet's condition, most policies will contribute to the costs of physio.

Is swimming a good idea?

• Swimming can be great and it can be a disaster, depending on a number of factors. For example, a paralysed dog who has never liked water may panic if swimming is done incorrectly. Furthermore, thought must be given to what we are trying to achieve by working in water.  It is not common knowledge that swimming does not stimulate the muscles that support the joints to help protect them from pain and injury - this is because there is no contact of the feet with the ground and bouyancy is stronger than gravity when we swim.  Proper exercise programs therefore need to be designed that target the required muscles and they need to be done frequently enough to have an effect. Please feel welcome to enquire about your pet's specific condition by contacting me directly on info@k9physio.com.

What about acupuncture?

• There are very few people I trust to do acupuncture or other forms of needle work (e.g. 'dry needling') on pets because it's a bit like the story of the 'girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead': when it's good, it can be very, very good, but when it's done badly, it can be horrid. (And isn't that the case with so many things in life, physio included?) I therefore recommend you contact me to find out who I have experience working with and therefore recommend, as these people are the ones I have found complement the work of physio to hasten the improvement of the animals concerned more than either physio or acupuncture would normally achieve alone. Please do not trust your pet's care to someone who has not obtained proper education in the acupuncture of animals, as opposed to mere human qualifications or even no accredited training at all. At all times, make sure that all people working with your pet are part of the team which is led by your vet - this helps to ensure the safety of your pet. IVAS accreditation is the gold standard of acupuncture in animals in Australia.

What about chiropractic?

• There are very few qualified animal chiropractors in Australia - please check the credentials of the chiropractor beforehand, just as you should with an acupuncturist or physiotherapist. Chiropractic and physiotherapy are different, so you are best to talk with both the physio and the chiropractor about their intended treatment programs to see which course of treatment you and your vet feel is more appropriate for your pet's specific condition. As always, make sure that all people working with your pet are part of the team which is led by your vet - this helps to ensure the safety of your pet.

What about massage therapy?

• As with acupuncture and chiropractic (and physiotherapy) it is important that you employ someone with the proper credentials and who is happy to work as part of the team led by your vet.  Please ascertain whether they understand that massaging pets requires a different skill-set than massaging humans. For example, if I were to massage even a big dog with the same pressure I would a human with a tight muscle, I will almost certainly get bitten, and even if I have the pet restrained so they can't bite me, they don't have the cognitive ability to 'breathe... try to relax... it's for my own good...' that humans have - pets instead respond to painful massage by spasming further, so it is important that the massage therapist has skills in gently relieving spasm, for example.
• I am university-trained in massage and have massaged pets for over a decade, so I know what does and doesn't work. I have developed gentle strategies that I can teach you to do on your pet safely at home (I make you practise on me first!) so please ask if you require further information. It is quite common for people to come to physio for just one or two sessions to learn how to make their arthritic pet more comfortable as they age, by massaging them regularly themselves at home.

My own physio uses lots of machines on me - can you do that for my pet?

• Indeed, I am trained in the correct, safe use of all the machines available to other human physiotherapists, but I have found over the years that these are typically best left as 'back up' to the initial hands-on physio techniques and treat-rewarded exercises that the owners can continue on a daily basis at home, as this typically leads to a faster and more sustained improvement. This is largely because we don't see animal patients as frequently as we do human patients - and because the animals are much more motivated to do their exercises at home because they get fed to do them! I always say that if only I had bribed my human patients with Tim Tams (marvellous Australian chocolate biscuits, if you are reading this from overseas) I might have stayed in human physio a lot longer!
• A word of warning - please be careful about allowing non-physiotherapists to use machines such as therapeutic ultrasound or LASER on your pet. I have seen pets burnt from the incorrect use of these machines and indeed, even if they are used safely but at the wrong time in the healing process, they can do more harm than good.  Many designed-for-human machines have not been tested on pets to determine the correct dosage rates, so I personally make sure I use only the safest of machines and only when there are no simpler techniques available to achieve the same benefits without the same risks of harm.

How did you come up with your company name of 'Danskar Enterprises'?

• Oddly enough, nobody asked this question for over 10 years, and then suddenly two people asked in the same week and it's snowballed from there! Dante and Skarlett were our first two dogs together, so we took the first syllable of each dog's name and named it after them! Dante's name went first, because he was the oldest and first to arrive home.
  

Haven't answered all of your questions?

• Please contact me directly on info@k9physio.com and I will be happy to help in any way I can.