Therapeutic Exercises
Therapeutic exercises are movements designed to help our patients with:
- Injury
- Recovery from Surgery
- Prevent muscle atrophy
- Build muscle
- Improve joint health and mobility
- Lose weight
- Reduce pain
When deciding which therapeutic exercises would be most beneficial to your pet we will take into account their current physical state, rehab goals, and what they enjoy/will tolerate.
Just like with exercises that we as humans do, the nature of these benefits are derived from the effect of force on muscle tissue. Force will affect the tissue in two ways: stress, which is an intrinsic resistance, and strain, which is an accommodation to the force by a change in the shape of the tissue. To achieve this force, we will use exercises that challenge and stimulate the appropriate areas of muscles.
Therapeutic exercises are also important for joint health. When pressure is put on a joint, an effect known as cartilage loading occurs, which is crucial to prevent deterioration of the cartilage and health of the joint. By doing these personalized exercises in a controlled environment we can ensure that our patients recover quickly and safely.
There is also a mental component to our therapeutic exercises, and some of our patients really enjoy the challenge and mental stimulation that comes with it!