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Canine and Small Animal Rehabilitation Referral Clinic

Our Facilities

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Aquatic Treadmill

Our aquatic treadmill is a Tudor Neptune Mk3 Hydrotherapy Treadmill with an extended chamber and automatic incline. 

It has a walk through design and large glass sides to facilitate full viewing areas. This enables the hydrotherapist to assess joint range of motion, stance time and stride length throughout the therapy session.

The extended chamber and powerful motor will easily accommodate even the largest of dog breeds. Foot rails either side allow the hydrotherapist to accompany the dog in the unit, this also provides the hydrotherapist with the capacity to guide and support the dog with gait re-education whenever necessary. The water level is easily adjusted, allowing the hydrotherapist to target flexion and extension on the joint of interest. The treadmill is equipped with a variable speed control panel, enabling us to achieve the correct gait pattern for the individual patient and an inbuilt electric controlled incline system (up to 6 degrees) which helps target load to the hind limbs if required.

Walking in water is a closed chain exercise; this method of walking without the added stress of further trauma is the ideal way of promoting gait re-education after surgery or injury.

The Neptune Mk3 is also beneficial for those dogs with heart or respiratory problems that find swimming in the hydro pool too exhausting and for dogs that are water phobic who simply prefer to have all four paws on the ground.

Hydro Pool

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Our Pool is a custom built 3m x 5m x 1.2m deep, specially designed canine hydrotherapy pool.

It has a wide inbuilt internal non-slip ramp and platform to give even the largest dogs a secure space to rest upon.

It is constantly heated  to 32 degrees as warm water helps muscles relax and eases discomfort in joints, tendons and muscles.

The pool is accessed by a non-slip dog ramp.

All dogs are swum in a safety harness. 

Chemical levels and balancing agents are checked using the Palintest Pooltest 6 photometer up to 3 times a day. Detailed records of the water quality are kept to maintain the correct balance.

Bromine is used to kill any bacteria that may be brought into the pool or treadmill.

There is a shower in the pool room and treadmill area so that your dog can be washed down before and after their treatment. 

Physiotherapy Electrotherapies

Therapeutic Ultrasound

Therapeutic ultrasound uses sound energy at frequencies greater than 20,000Hz, this affects tissues through the non-thermal and thermal mechanisms. Sound waves are mechanical pressure waves which move through the tissues and the energy is converted into kinetic energy, causing vibrations of molecules and neighbouring molecules. As well as cavitation and microstreaming, these both modify cellular function and cell membrane permeability, thus assisting with tissue repair and swelling reduction (Zink & Dyke, 2016).

Photobiomodulation / Low Level Laser Therapy (Class 3B Laser) 

Light strikes the tissues and is absorbed by the chromophores and metabolizes the light energy. Enhancing mitochondrial function responsible for ATP production, this will lead to more ATP and oxidative stress is reduced (tissue fatigue), the increased energy excites the cell and helps the healing process. Increases in enzyme activity. Activation of enzyme cytochrome C oxidase – this catalyses the transfer of electrons to molecular oxygen which is needed for the tissues to repair and reduce tension. Tertiary effects include activation of a wide range of transcription factors leading to improved cell survival, increased proliferation and migration, and new protein synthesis. Stressed cells produce too much nitric oxide to bind to the cytochrome c oxidase – this reduces the production of ATP – so using photobiomodulation will increase the ATP and release the nitric oxide by vasodilation (reduce oxidative stress). Could involve both pro-inflammatory effects and anti-inflammatory effects.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

​TENS, the electrostimulation most used for pain relief, stimulate the sensory nerve rather than the motor nerves. this is believed to reduce pain through the gate theory of pain inhibition, activation of endogenous opioids and pro-inflammatory cytokines. This is used for patients in pain or patients that are not able to tolerate pain medications.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF)

​The Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) matt often between 0-200Hz (Tommerdahl 2019), this matt offers animals a non-invasive, non-thermal treatment and promotion of healing for animals with minimal effort of being placed on to a matt, for a few minutes or up to 60 minutes. This will hugely benefit us for our smaller animals and exotic animals that are dangerous or difficult to handle, enabling treatment of a huge variety of species for rehabilitation. The matt has 4 coils that create a magnetic field, and a battery or electricity is used to pulse through the matt, creating an electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic field initiates biological cellular responses (ARF, 2021). The biological and cellular mechanisms through which PEMF work, by increasing the amount of ca2+ with exposure to the PEMF, increasing the binding of ca2+ and CaM (calmodulin) relating to metabolism, inflammation, apoptosis, and vascular tone. Also, treatment is shown to decrease the amount of nitric oxide, therefore reducing inflammation and increasing vasodilation.

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)

NMES, is primarily used to address muscular weakness, that can be associated with orthopaedic or neurological conditions, causes muscular contractions by depolarization of the motor nerve with an electrical current delivered by electrodes placed on the skin

K-Laser Treatment – Class IV Laser

K-Laser therapy does not treat conditions, it stimulates the body’s inherent healing mechanisms via a process called photobiomodulation. Through a combination of different wavelengths, power and frequency of laser light K-LASER is able to achieve improved healing times, pain reduction, increased circulation and decreased swelling. Laser Therapy has been utilised in human and animal medicine for many decades, however recent technical advances in laser miniaturisation has allowed laser therapy to be used for a wider range of patients.

Class IV Laser therapy can help treat a wide range of conditions effectively and without pain:

Joint Pain and Osteoarthritis

Tendonitis

Edema and Congestion

Chronic pain / Lameness

Fractures / Sprains / Strains

Trauma, Puncture Wounds

Dermatitis

Neck and Back Pain

Hip Dysplasia

Burns, Infected & Chronic Wounds

Rehabilitation

Recovery from surgery

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