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Rehabilitation Therapy Treatments
We want to work with you to help your pet heal faster, move quicker and feel better.

You may not yet have a diagnosis or answer to why your pet is lame, sore or in pain. We offer initial examinations to determine the source of the problem. Once we know the issue we are dealing with then a proper and individualized treatment plan can start to take shape.

Rehabilitation therapy treatments for your pet

We welcome the opportunity to work with patients who have been referred from other veterinary clinics, as well as clients who have recognized a need for our services without a prior referral. Some of our most common treatments include:

Musculoskeletal injuries (iliopsoas, biceps, gracilis, supraspinatus injury)
Osteoarthritis
Cruciate ligament injury/rupture
Hip dysplasia
Elbow dysplasia
Lameness
Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)
Back pain
Joint injury
Neurological conditions (cauda equina, lumbosacral disease, IVDD, brachial plexus injury etc)
Performance problems in sport animals
Weight loss management

Rehabilitation therapy treatments for your pet

We welcome the opportunity to work with patients who have been referred from other veterinary clinics, as well as clients who have recognized a need for our services without a prior referral. Some of our most common treatments include:

Musculoskeletal injuries (iliopsoas, biceps, gracilis, supraspinatus injury)
Osteoarthritis
Cruciate ligament injury/rupture
Hip dysplasia
Elbow dysplasia
Lameness
Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)
Back pain
Joint injury
Neurological conditions (cauda equina, lumbosacral disease, IVDD, brachial plexus injury etc)
Performance problems in sport animals
Weight loss management

Veterinary Rehabilitation is a therapeutic approach to help relieve pain and dysfunction in animals.

Research proves that every and all patients can benefit from rehab. Dr. Tara Hudye, Dr. Corben Scherer, Dr. Alexina Labrecque and Jillian Clark, PT,  are all certified in this field in addition to their veterinary and/or physiotherapy degrees. Each pet will have an unique and individualized treatment plan involving  owner education and home management, treatment modalities and therapies  to help regain function and relieve pain.

Veterinary Rehabilitation is a therapeutic approach to help relieve pain and dysfunction in animals.

Research proves that every and all patients can benefit from rehab. Dr. Tara Hudye, Dr. Corben Scherer, Dr. Alexina Labrecque and Jillian Clark, PT,  are all certified in this field in addition to their veterinary and/or physiotherapy degrees. Each pet will have an unique and individualized treatment plan involving  owner education and home management, treatment modalities and therapies  to help regain function and relieve pain.

  • Manual therapy is often thought of as just ‘massaging’. It is so much more than just that! Our hands are used in both assessment and treatment. We need to determine the tone of the muscle, the joint restrictions, and myofascial trigger points. We determine a sense of the grinding of the joints, or crepitus, and can feel the knot within the muscle that is causing pain.


     

    When you first see us place our hands on your pet, you may easily mistake manual therapy for massage. Although massage is an important tool we often use in clinic and also teach owners to do at home, manual therapy is so much more.

    Massage uses pressure on the skin and tissue/muscles to increase circulation, flexibility, tension release and relaxation.

    Manual therapy techniques can increase the healing process and correct faults within the soft tissues and joints. Learning to do manual therapy is an advanced skill, learned after becoming a certified rehab practitioner/vet and I can attest that it takes years to develop a keen sense of touch that is needed to do a good job. I often will look away, or close my eyes to block out the visual sense in order to focus on my tactile senses. I know I may look awkward, but I swear this helps!

    Manual therapy involves a hands on technique that will realign joints and correct positional faults of the tissue. We will utilize soft tissue (fascial and ligament) mobilization, muscle energy techniques, myofascial release, joint mobilizations and manipulations. Why do this all this?

    Incredibly, these techniques will increase the range of motion of the joint, meaning we can improve the joints ability to flex or extend. A very important treatment especially in chronic arthritis or strain situations. In addition, by mobilizing or moving a joint is a very specific way, we can upregulate the joint fluid and circulation of the joint. Lastly, manual techniques have the added benefit of pain relief. By eliminating a trigger point, or ridding a muscle spasm, we can drastically make improvements in pain relief and healing rate.

    Using manual therapy, massage or both for our patients is just one of the many tools we utilize at our clinic. Each case is individualized; some cases require the manual therapy to be the majority of treatments, while others do not require as much. Nonetheless, our hands are the most effective tool we have to help your pet, both in the assessment and treatment!

  • Dr. Tara Hudye and Dr. Alexina Labrecque received their needling and acupuncture training through various colleges and affiliates including the Atlantic Veterinary College, College of Integrative Therapy and Canine Rehabilitation Institute. Both doctors perform acupuncture on our patients to increase pain relief, increase healing rate and overall increase the recovery of our patients. Basically, we use acupuncture in any patient we feel would benefit from its healing and pain relieving effects. Most of our patients get very sleepy or even fall asleep during the treatment!

     

    Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years as a way to help treat different ailments. The needles are very small, in fact the dogs and cats rarely detect the needle placement.  Specific points or sites are chosen that will result in pain relief, increase muscle and nerve function, and decrease inflammation.

     

    Our patients either receive acupuncture treatments as a sole treatment or often, it is added to our rehabilitation therapy as an added benefit to their recovery program.

     

    Acupuncture can help relieve many problems, such as:

     

    - Arthritis

    - Back pain

    - IVDD (Intervertebral disc disease)

    - Myofascial trigger points and pain

    - Elbow and hip dysplasia

    - Ligament problems

    - Post operative and preoperative care

    - Hind end weakness

    - Degenerative myelopathy

    - Vestibular disease

    - Dental pain

    - Nerve paralysis (radial nerve, brachial plexus avulsion)

     

    Benefits of acupuncture:

     

    - Increased circulation and decreased inflammation