Million Dollar question- when to start Rehabilitation?

This is a pretty easy question to answer in every scenario.

And the answer is right now.

There is a misconception that rehabilitation is not safe to start the same day as surgery or injury. The evidence shows that early intervention by highly trained individuals will decrease swelling, can decrease pain, improve outcomes, and speed recovery. It will also decrease the animal compensating.

For many animals who suddenly have their world changed & suddenly are not allowed to have the freedom to choose where and when to sleep, to know what’s happening in the back yard when they hear a bump on the fence or choose not to interact with humans. Early intervention with consensual rehabilitation activities gives them choice and control that has in many other areas of life been taken away.

It is super important to read my blog on checking credentials https://www.primalpaws.com/blog/2017/11/25/check-the-cred

Early rehab is powerful and should be done by those with appropriate training. In Australia they should have a bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy or Veterinary science as well as additional training in animal rehabilitation to be starting this early or be supervised/directed by someone with this qualification.

People think of rehabilitation as getting pets on unstable equipment, but early rehab may involve looking at appropriate bedding, managing lymphatic flow, training their owners how to assist their pet move and be confined. We cannot optimally care for your pet if you damage your shoulder or injure your back! We discuss nutrition requirements for optimal healing. We give owners guidance on what they CAN do with their pet as well as what limitations are needed. We work with sensory information and encourage early enrichment and train the care team how to notice early signs of frustration, fear or pain that may indicate we need to reassess how we are managing care. It is only after the pet is stable and it’s appropriate that rehab starts to look like what you typically see on the internet that is pets working on moving and building strength.

So, if your pet is injured, has just had surgery or had an illness that has left them recumbent for more than 24hrs please call a rehabilitation therapist to start your pet’s road to recovery today. In a way that will speed recovery and reduce injury while they are less than optimal.