Canine Rehabilitation

Hydrotherapy/Underwater Treadmill

One of the problems we face in veterinary medicine is our inability to convince our patients to do painful things.  We often have patients who would benefit from increased use of an injured limb, but are unable to make this happen.  This is one of the major indications for the use the underwater treadmill.  By placing a pet in water, we can use its buoying effect to reduce stress on a sore or injured area of the body and allow a pet to begin its recovery.  Our underwater treadmill lets dogs begin to walk in a controlled manner with much less effort.  Dogs with arthritis can walk more easily, giving them a chance to improve strength, mobility, and neurological function, and to lose weight.  Post-surgical patients may begin treadmill exercise as soon as their incisions are sealed.  Neurological cases that are unable to support their own weight may be able to walk and begin retraining their neural pathways.  The patterning effect of treadmill walking has been shown to enhance recoveries and reduce healing time following neurological injury.