Do Something Great - May 25, 2008
"Dog Rehab"
At the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, dogs' physical therapy includes an underwater treadmill.
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Transcript
Tracy Marsh: Most of what we're doing is just helping them get back on their feet faster. We're just getting animals back from surgery. They lose muscle mass. We need to retrain their legs, their feet, how to work, where they need to be. They're recovering from neurological injuries, so the underwater treadmill is a great modality for them because we can get a lot of that weight off of their body, off of their joints while they're getting a cardiovascular workout. And as they're losing weight, they're becoming healthier. They can do more activities outside of the water.
We start out with just maybe some slow walking, some just might stand in the water at first, and just let the heat do some of its work. And as we move through their therapy we might increase their time in there, increase their speed on the treadmill.
The treadmill offers us the opportunity to let them swim. It's got jets, so they can just get in there. They don't have to walk on the treadmill at all, they can just kind of get in the water and swim. Or we can turn the water on with the jets. So there are a lot of different things we can do with the water.
I think it's important for us to be able to offer the best of everything to our clients, and I think it includes the rehab. It is another modality, it's kind of finishing what we started. If we take them to surgery we want to complete the job fully and give clients the opportunity to do the best that they can for their animal.
Some of the dogs Tracy Marsh sees at the College of Veterinary Medicine's Canine Physical Rehabilitation Facility are recovering from surgery or joint injuries.
Others have put on a few too many pounds during the long, cold winter and need help dropping some weight.
Marsh, a veterinary technician, uses the rehab facility's new tool--an underwater treadmill--to treat dogs in both camps.
Just as in water aerobics for people with arthritis, the underwater treadmill eases the pressure on dogs' joints.
“It's important for us to be able to offer the best of everything to our clients.”
—Tracy Marsh, veterinary technician
"The deeper the water is, the easier it is for animals to work," Marsh says. "As we lower the water, it becomes more challenging."
Some dogs are at first perplexed by the treadmill, but the 94-degree water in the treadmill tank is enticing to them after the initial confusion. Marsh ends each treatment by activating massage jets in the water chamber.
"They seem to enjoy it," she says.
Each dog treated at the rehab facility has an individualized program; depending on a dog's needs, treatment may include a land treadmill and exercises designed to increase agility.
"We started the rehab program as a complement to the other therapies that we provide in our hospital, the surgeries and other procedures," Marsh says. "It's important for us to be able to offer the best of everything to our clients, and that includes the rehab."
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