Laser Therapy

Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
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pattyd7
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:42 pm

Laser Therapy

Post by pattyd7 »

Has anyone had laser therapy on their dogs? How well did it work? How often was it done?
I've been reading on it and it seems it might be very helpful for dogs in our medical condition.
Any thoughts?
Laurfeen
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Joined: Tue May 26, 2015 10:37 pm

Re: Laser Therapy

Post by Laurfeen »

I have the same question. Would
Love to no if anyone has had it done.
Bobbie
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Re: Laser Therapy

Post by Bobbie »

I haven't done it but I think it would have little effect-it creates local heat and improves circulation and can help joints feel better but it can't heal nerves.
Bobbie Mayer
"Corgis on Wheels: Understanding and Caring for the Special Needs of Corgis with Degenerative Myelopathy or DIsk Disease available now!
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Beagleland
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Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2015 6:52 am

Re: Laser Therapy

Post by Beagleland »

We used laser therapy on our sharpei-mix who was born with a deformed/short right front leg (arm) ..... she saw a rehab specialist who did laser therapy twice a week for a few weeks, then weekly for about a month. She also had both cruciate ligament ruptures with subsequent surgery (TPLO).
The laser therapy worked great ! I couldn't believe how much it helped, even after just two or three treatments. Since we live 4+ hours from the rehab doc, we researched lasers for home use and found one that we could afford. We are fortunate, for now, we use it on our guys whenever they have a moderate to serious joint inflammation. We have five rescue dogs -- the youngest is 15 months old. When we got her, she had been thrown from a car and both front legs had multiple fractures. We used our laser, here at home, during her healing. We also have a Corgi who had emergency discectomy last year -- when he seems to have increased back pain, we laser it and he seems to get some relief and increased mobility and less tenderness. If you are considering laser therapy, I would say go ahead, try it. We have had improved outcomes in all of the dogs we have used it on.
Beagleland
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Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2015 6:52 am

Re: Laser Therapy

Post by Beagleland »

We used laser therapy on our sharpei-mix who was born with a deformed/short right front leg (arm) ..... she saw a rehab specialist who did laser therapy twice a week for a few weeks, then weekly for about a month. She also had both cruciate ligament ruptures with subsequent surgery (TPLO).
The laser therapy worked great ! I couldn't believe how much it helped, even after just two or three treatments. Since we live 4+ hours from the rehab doc, we researched lasers for home use and found one that we could afford. We are fortunate, for now, we use it on our guys whenever they have a moderate to serious joint inflammation. We have five rescue dogs -- the youngest is 15 months old. When we got her, she had been thrown from a car and both front legs had multiple fractures. We used our laser, here at home, during her healing. We also have a Corgi who had emergency discectomy last year -- when he seems to have increased back pain, we laser it and he seems to get some relief and increased mobility and less tenderness. If you are considering laser therapy, I would say go ahead, try it. We have had improved outcomes in all of the dogs we have used it on.
pattyd7
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:42 pm

Re: Laser Therapy

Post by pattyd7 »

Thanks. We decided to go with it. The rehab is costing allot. We are currently getting hydro & acupuncture. I'm thinking we're not going to be able to keep this up. The laser is doable though. I"m glad to hear it has helped you all. I know it's got to help, we just can't see it. :(
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CarolC
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Re: Laser Therapy

Post by CarolC »

You are right, in my experience recovery can be so slow I like to call it glacial(!), but that does not mean it is not happening. It helps to make a note of every tiny little improvement in the early weeks, however small, and even keep a diary, because all those little improvements add up, and one day you look back and cannot believe how far you have come. If you need to cut back to save money, don't feel bad, join the crowd! If you have a choice of stopping hydrotherapy or acupuncture, I would stop the acupuncture. If you have a choice of continuing to do a lot of PT right now (early in recovery) or having fewer sessions but spreading them out longer, I would start thinking about spreading them out longer. It may not seem like it, but this is still "early days". I would focus on good diet, happy dog, home PT, and if you can get your dog in at least once a week for hydrotherapy that's great, but if you can't, don't feel bad, dogs have recovered without it. Connie's dog, Cricket, is a good example and she did it all at home. One of the benefits of continuing professional PT if you can, is it not only is good for your dog but it helps keep you going, you are not alone, and they can help guide you on the home PT as well.
pattyd7
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:42 pm

Re: Laser Therapy

Post by pattyd7 »

Thanks Carol;
We have come to a crawl on improvements. We had acupuncture & hydro this week. She did ok. She's not working w/ me on the pt. I"ll be standing her & she's trying to sit down pushing back. The pt dr gave me the info that seems to help. I think sometimes she's just content w/ where she's at. Like why am I even bothering when she's not? We're going to have to start doing allot of the pt at home. It's like $62 for hydro & $80 for 5 treatments of laser. That's a good deal. I believe she'll be 8 weeks out this Tuesday on her surgery. Prissy walks w/ her front paws now. She sits and uses her front paws to scoot.. Sometimes she hops. I've caught her every now and again letting one of those back legs go behind her as she is sitting. I'm trying to keep those hopes up.. Say a prayer for us. It's all on me . My husband doesn't help. We also live kind of in the country . There are no sidewalks. The roads are too busy. I've been trying to walk her up and down our long driveway. I'm fearful though that she'll get sores on her feet from dragging them. I can't seem to always catch those feet dragging!
Thanks for all the info!
Patti / Prissy



CarolC wrote:You are right, in my experience recovery can be so slow I like to call it glacial(!), but that does not mean it is not happening. It helps to make a note of every tiny little improvement in the early weeks, however small, and even keep a diary, because all those little improvements add up, and one day you look back and cannot believe how far you have come. If you need to cut back to save money, don't feel bad, join the crowd! If you have a choice of stopping hydrotherapy or acupuncture, I would stop the acupuncture. If you have a choice of continuing to do a lot of PT right now (early in recovery) or having fewer sessions but spreading them out longer, I would start thinking about spreading them out longer. It may not seem like it, but this is still "early days". I would focus on good diet, happy dog, home PT, and if you can get your dog in at least once a week for hydrotherapy that's great, but if you can't, don't feel bad, dogs have recovered without it. Connie's dog, Cricket, is a good example and she did it all at home. One of the benefits of continuing professional PT if you can, is it not only is good for your dog but it helps keep you going, you are not alone, and they can help guide you on the home PT as well.
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CarolC
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Re: Laser Therapy

Post by CarolC »

If she hops, that is incredible...

Scraped feet do go with the territory, it's true. Different dogs will scrape their feet in different places depending on how they walk/drag. Worn down nails are another thing. Some times a few days of rest may be needed for the scrapes to heal a bit. Eventually it becomes less of a problem, but we certainly went through lot of vet wrap in this house. :wink: There have been discussions here of what to apply to scraped feet and people have tried different products. I think rest and Neosporin works about as well as anything. Some people have tried booties, I think how well that works depends on the dog. We had little luck with boots, better luck with vet wrap or bare feet.

It also helps to keep the nails of the front feet well trimmed because she will be putting more weight in front and if the nails get long it makes it harder for her. That is something it is easy to forget when you are focussed on the hind feet.

It's a shame you are kind of on your own. All I can say is, a lot of the people here are single so being on our own is par for the course, that was my case for sure. But it might be doubly frustrating to be doing everything yourself when you have family who you might have thought would help. That situation is common, too. Often one family member seems to assume all the care. And in some cases (I have not heard of this so much lately, but it used to happen), other family members who are either well-meaning or simply opinionated, not only do not help but advise the caregiver they should just put the dog down. I think people are getting a little better about that now, though. People do not seem to mention it as much as they used to. That's progress! :D

EDIT TO ADD: Here is an idea I had forgotten about, baby socks! :smart: A nice compromise between clumsy boots and barefoot.
http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... ped#p40473
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