Physical therapy exercises to do at home

[tbone4]

My two year old 12 pound dog remains paralyzed in his legs a month after surgery. There is no improvement at all, so it's looking like he might never walk again. I am taking him to physical therapy twice a week, and I do exercises at home four times a day. I would like to do all of his therapy at home, and I'm interested to find out what exercises other people are doing. I massage, stretch his legs and hold for several seconds, and slowly bicycle for 15 reps on each side. I also try and get him up on his sling, but he pretty much refuses to move...maybe too much weight on his paws. Does anyone know of a dvd that shows more exercises to do at home?

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

In this forum, look at Paralysis Information:

http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... =4&t=10626

Scroll down to Massage, Passive Therapy & Physical Therapy.

There are some GREAT links in there that are wonderful for pups who aren't parapups!

I also highly recommend Stuff I Learned Along The Way by Bijoux at the top of this forum:

http://www.handicappedpet.net/helppets/ ... =4&t=11869

[renea09]

In addition to our physical therapy, Keegan's therapist had us do electro-therapy with an alpha-stim unit. We leased it from her for a while, and eventually just bought it. It isn't cheap, unfortunately, but has been invaluable in her recovery. It is definitely something I would look into. This is the unit our doctor had us use: http://www.alpha-stim.com/as100.html

[kristenv]

Hi Tbone,

Some of the things I did with Samy that were helpful during recovery:


Flexing the leg joints (ankle knee etc) to keep them supple
Range of motion
Bicycles (lying on one side first than switch to the other)
Stretches (with massage stretch legs out and massage gently)
Standing (well supported not walking just putting feet in correct placement and supported. Did I mentioned well supported?????)
Heat therapy and massage 1-2 times daily. Hot back can be warmed in the microwave (but check so not too hot). I would position Samy on his side and lay the pad along his back for e few miutes than move to his shoulders, than his hind leg, than feet than flip (him not the hot pack). As I moved through each spot I would gently massage the heated area always towards the heart. I would also wrap my hand around his little feet and squeeze gently 5-10 times. I can remeber how cold his feet would feel when we started, and how the massage etc. would increase the circulation and they woudl warm up. Sounds simple but I swear it really helped him. Especially in the shoulders as he woudl be very tense, and post op the area around his incision I woudl gently manipulate to prevent scar tissue.
I can also advocate the "stim" therapy mentioned by renea09. My vet used e stim with Samy and it was so very helpful.
I wonder too if the therapist woudl be willing to teach you their routine as well??

Kristen

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Kristen, those are also GREAT for most mobility problems as well! I did them with St.Jude, crushed hips, shattered front leg.

Great tips, all!

[Aus Dilecce]

Slow Down!
A lot of furkids don't walk for many weeks after surgery. Cinders (Jack Russell) walked in 4 weeks and we and the surgeon were amazed.
Six months later she still improves all the time.
We were told not to rush into a wheelchair as this can take away their desire to walk.
We still put her on her back on our lap and do slow cycling and then hubby used to also put his fingers between her pads tickling her toes. For a long time he had no reaction then suddenly she started kicking back. I think she was as surprised as we were!
We did a fair bit of hydrotherapy with her. Bought her a little life jacket and swam her in the bath.
Her little legs used to be so stiff that when we would start cycling they wouldn't bend and we used to do the can can and try to make it fun for her.
We were lucky that she is very compliant and lies like a rag doll to have anything done to her.
We
What breed is your boy? Is he on crate rest?

[FYI]

Does anyone know of a dvd that shows more exercises to do at home?

http://www.dogstogo.net/