FlexiVet Physiotherapy

12/11/2025

Thank you for your lovely review, Christine!

07/11/2025

May you have as much happiness and excitement in your life as Harper does for her veterinary physiotherapy treatments.

Happy Friday❤️

04/11/2025

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲!
Today I'd like to express the immense gratitude I have for this amazing field - for my incredible patients, clients, collaborating veterinarians, and other members of the animal health team. It is an honour to be involved in so many animals' journey to improving their comfort and functionality.
I am proud to be part of the profession and to be a veterinary physiotherapist

31/10/2025

Some of the beautiful little beings that I had the privilege of helping over October.

30/10/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰!

28/10/2025

🪑✨ A “sit” isn’t just a sit - it’s a window into spinal alignment, pelvic control, and limb loading.

This example isn’t a terrible sit, but it does show us some of the most common compensations we need to watch for:

🔍 Pelvis & Lumbar Spine:
Notice how the pelvis is tucked and the lumbar spine is rounded, pushing the tail base underneath the body. This posture opens the hip and hock joints but places increased pressure on the stifle - you can see that here with maximum stifle flexion while the hip and hock are slightly open. Dogs will often also externally rotate the hip to unload those joints.

💡 What we want instead: a straight spine from head to tail and a pelvic position that keeps the lumbosacral region neutral and stable. This distributes load evenly through the limb and core.

🦵 Limb Alignment:
Draw a line from the stifle to the floor - ideally, the stifle should sit in front of the toes. This position brings the full hind limb into maximum, functional flexion without collapsing posture.

🐾 Forelimb Weight Bearing:
Here, the weight is shifted backwards - you can see the forepaws drifting forward and the elbows slightly behind them. Ideally, the forepaws should remain directly under the elbows to keep weight distribution balanced and the thoracic sling engaged.

These small positional details matter. Over time, incorrect posture reinforces poor biomechanics, reduces core activation, and can contribute to repetitive strain - particularly at the lumbosacral junction, hip, and stifle.

📚 As described by Farr, Ramos & Otto (2020), foundational exercises like the Posture Sit and Posture Down are powerful tools for building core stability and proprioceptive memory of correct alignment. These postures don’t just teach dogs how to sit, they teach them how to move safely and efficiently

👉 Try observing your next patient’s sit with these markers in mind. Are they stacking their spine, pelvis, and limbs optimally? Or are they compensating - and telling you exactly where their weaknesses lie?

📆 Join us on 8 November at the Vet Rehab Summit, where experts like Anna Lee Sanders, Jana Gams , Arielle Markley and more help us take our movement based assessment and therapy to new heights!

25/10/2025

Why are working dog owners sleeping on proper body conditioning training while their dogs are still puppies? I need to know.

Is it lack of understanding or knowledge of the benefits? You don't need to be a qualified physio to do it, just guidance from one.

Im a changed owner. I'll never do it differently anymore.
Not even specific to working dogs only, even pet dogs , but working dogs bodies get put through it.

22/10/2025

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲?
Laser therapy is a gentle, non-invasive treatment that uses specific wavelengths of light to pe*****te the skin and underlying tissues. This light energy stimulates the body’s natural healing processes — reducing inflammation, easing pain, improving circulation, and supporting tissue repair. A Class IV laser combines red and infrared light to reach both surface and deeper layers of tissue.

By enhancing cellular activity (increasing ATP production, collagen formation, and healthy scar tissue development), laser therapy helps the body heal more efficiently and comfortably.

It’s an excellent tool to support recovery in:
• Post-surgical cases
• Arthritic or chronic pain conditions
• Nerve-related injuries
• Stubborn or slow-healing wounds

A big thank you to@katjaphotography_ for the beautiful photos

20/10/2025

20/10/2025

After having a few interesting conversations over the past week, and a colleague complaining of a client who replaced her rehab plan with ChatGPT's advice, it got me thinking about AI's place in the veterinary physiotherapy field.

Although AI has its place and its value, there are very real dangers when used without professional context. It doesn't discriminate against good and bad sources, and instead predicts answers based on patterns.
This can result in damaging/ dangerous advice.

If you turn to AI for advice, that’s okay—but please talk to your vet or veterinary physiotherapist before following it.

Check out this week's blog: https://flexivetphysio.co.za/the-role-of-ai-in-animal-rehabilitation-help-or-hurdle/

17/10/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐆𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥!

13/10/2025

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰?
60% of owners believe their overweight pet is of a healthy weight

For this reason, it is important to learn how to accurately assess your pet's weight and body condition. Stay tuned to learn how to body condition score your own animal