perform with Maya at home. The
home
exercise
program
was
reviewed with the owners at each
session to ensure they were
performing the exercises correctly,
and that Maya was tolerating the
exercises well. The importance of
following our recommendations was
stressed to the owner to ensure a
good outcome. I also played an
important role in monitoring Maya
for any signs of discomfort. I acted
accordingly
by
informing
the
Rehabilitation Specialist, Dr. Carolina
Medina, and treated Maya with the
appropriate therapy.
After surgical stabilization, Maya
successfully completed 20 weeks of
physical
rehabilitation
which
focused on pain management and
return to functional mobility after a
partial rupture of her right calcaneal
tendon.
Physical
rehabilitation
proved to play an important role in
Maya's recovery by using physical
modalities to help stimulate the
healing process, and facilitate
muscular function with therapeutic
exercises and hydrotherapy. The
orthotic was critical to the success of
the the calcaneon tendon healing,
by avoiding load on the tendon too
early
in the recovery.
After
completion of Maya’s rehabilitation
program, the surgeon stated that
Maya had a successful outcome
with much improved tarsal flexion
and functional mobility.
References:
Borghese I, Fair L, Kaufmann M,
Mich P. (2013) Assistive Devices,
Orthosis,
Prosthetics
and
Bandaging. In Canine Sports
Medicine and Rehabilitation (Zink
M Editor, Van Dyke J Editor), 201-
209. Wiley-Blackwell, IA.
Levine D, Watson T. (2014)
Therapeutic Ultrasound. In Canine
Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy
(Millis, Darryl L, Levine, David), 328-
339. Saunders, MO.
Millis D, Gross-Saunders D. (2014)
Laser
Therapy
in
Canine
Rehabilitation.
In
Canine
Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy
(Millis D, Levine D) 359-380.
Saunders, PA.