FlexiVet Physiotherapy

20/12/2025

20/12/2025

When we look at this illustration, it becomes clear how dramatically a forelimb amputee must reorganise their body through each moment of the gait cycle just to move forward.

This is not a small adaptation - it is a full-body strategy.

As the dog attempts to “walk,” the head drops and the centre of mass shifts forward and down, placing an enormous load onto the remaining thoracic limb. The thoracic sling collapses, the sternum travels toward the ground. At the same time, the hindquarters elevate to counterbalance the loss of stability in the front.

To lift the forelimb, the dog throws the head up and back, barely generating enough lift for the forepaw to clear the ground and to protract.

Across these two frames, we see a loss of spinal alignment. This dog is unable to maintain a neutral horizontal balance.
The neck, thoracic spine, shoulder, elbow, and carpus take the brunt of this compensation, and over time, this repetitive overload commonly progresses into carpal hyperextension, thoracic sling fatigue, and secondary musculoskeletal pain.

This illustration highlights a key point: These compensatory patterns are not occasional - they occur with every step.

Why this matters for hydrotherapy

This pronounced forward collapse and head-dip strategy is precisely why the underwater treadmill is often inappropriate for forelimb amputees.
To move on a treadmill, the dog must continue to:
👉 Overload the remaining forelimb
👉 Drop the forequarter to stabilise
👉 Rock back and forth to generate forward motion
👉 Reinforce the same dysfunctional pattern we are trying to correct

Because the UWT still requires weight bearing, it forces the amputee to rely on the very compensations that are causing harm. In many cases, it will worsen the asymmetry and accelerate overload injuries.

For these patients, we need an environment where we can:
👉 Fully remove weight bearing
👉 Allow the spine to lengthen into neutral alignment
👉 Encourage true thoracic sling engagement
👉 Support controlled, pain-free joint motion through full ROM
👉 Build strength without reinforcing pathological movement

This is why swimming becomes the most appropriate hydrotherapy choice for many amputees: buoyancy enables us to retrain movement rather than perpetuate compensation.

❓ What gait compensations do you see most commonly in your forelimb amputee patients when they attempt to walk forward?

Onlinepethealth Hydro members can now watch our full webinar “Hydrotherapy for Amputee Patients: Goals, Ethics, and Practical Approaches” with Angela Griffiths in the members library.

Not a member yet? Comment HYD and we’ll send you the registration info.

To learn more, explore our blogs: The Three Strands of Rehabilitation in the Canine Amputee Why Your Amputee Needs a Hydrotherapist. Comment AMPUTEE and we will send you those links :-)

14/12/2025

Fleece vs. Newspaper: A Game-Changer for Guide Dog Hips?
https://www.fourleg.com/Blog?b=748

Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a tough break for dogs—especially working breeds like Labradors and Golden Retrievers. It’s a mix of genetics and environment that can lead to pain, limping, and big vet bills. A recent study from Guide Dogs for the Blind caught my eye, suggesting something as simple as swapping newspaper for fleece in whelping pools might lower CHD risk. Let’s unpack this study, keep it straightforward, and highlight what’s worth noting for vets, breeders, and dog enthusiasts.

02/12/2025

Dear Clients

The calendar for December is filling up fast. I will be away from 24 Dec- 2 Jan for a much-needed rest and re-charge.
There will be a lovely vet physio on stand-by, should your animal require any help during this time.

Don't forget to book quickly if you wish to see me before this time.

Thank you for your understanding. I will be back fresh and ready for action in the new year🐾🐎

27/11/2025

🐾 Why Every Veterinary Practice Needs a Rehabilitation Therapist

Here’s a question worth sitting with:
If physiotherapy is considered essential in every human hospital - from orthopaedics to neurology, ICU to geriatrics - why is it still considered optional in veterinary practice?

More and more clinics are starting to ask this, and the answer is transforming patient outcomes.

Adding an in-house veterinary rehabilitation therapist doesn’t just mean “more services.” It means better pain control, faster recoveries, happier clients, and a healthier practice - in every sense of the word.

Think about what happens when rehab becomes part of the daily workflow:

⚡️ Pain is managed proactively, not reactively.
🦴 Degenerative conditions are supported long-term, improving both quality and length of life.
🔪 Post-op recoveries are smoother and more complete.
🏋️‍♀️ Sporting and working animals receive ongoing, preventive care.
👀 Clients feel seen, supported, and empowered.

And your team becomes a truly multidisciplinary force 👉 not a collection of individuals working in parallel, but a group solving complex cases together.

When rehabilitation is integrated into a veterinary team, the practice begins to see patients differently 👉 not as “cases,” but as dynamic, adaptable bodies capable of recovery, strength, and longevity when given the right tools and time.

And yes, it’s good business too. Clinics offering in-house rehab report improved client retention, greater continuity of care, and new avenues for growth.

So perhaps the real question isn’t “Can we afford to hire a rehabilitation therapist?”
It’s “Can we afford not to?”

💬 Let’s open this up:
If you’re a vetrehabber working within a veterinary practice, what difference has it made - for your patients, your team, or your clients?
And if you’re not yet part of a practice team, what do you think still stands in the way of integration?

Read more on this topic in this weeks blog. Comment BLOG and we will send you the link 🔗

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.