Physical Rehabilitation

Canine physical rehabilitation is another tool we can utilize to help animals recover from injuries, relieve pain, and increase strength and endurance. It is best used in combination with traditional medicine to enhance a patient’s quality of life, as well as other modalities including platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections, medical laser therapy, and dry needling. This branch of medicine allows general practitioners, certified rehabilitation practitioners, surgeons, and pet parents to work together to bring pets back to optimal health and function at a much quicker rate.

Anna Tackett, DVM, CCRP (Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner), CSMP (Certified Small Animal Myofascial Practitioner) is providing physical rehabilitation services at Barks + Bliss. She can help your pet recover from surgery, and regain mobility from a previous injury. Dr. Tackett provides a tailored program for each individual in order to optimize their health at a fitness level they can manage, while also making sure your pet is having a great time during their sessions.

If you would like to schedule a consult with Dr. Tackett, please contact us at (254) 781-5997. If you are a referring veterinarian, you may call or send a referral through our rDVM page.

What Can Physical Rehabilitation and Complementary Medicine Treat?

  • Ligament and muscle injuries
  • Regaining function after surgery
  • Weakness
  • Neurological abnormalities
  • Regaining function after a fracture
  • Arthritis
  • Dysplasia
  • Chronic dysfunction or pain
  • Obesity

What to Expect

At your first appointment, Dr. Tackett will evaluate your pet’s current mobility, pain levels, and functionality. You will discuss goals, and the areas of your pet’s life where they are struggling the most. Using the working diagnosis from your primary veterinarian, Dr. Tackett will work with you to create a specific therapy plan, to reach the goals you desire for your pet.

Depending on your level of comfort performing the exercises with your pet and other important factors, she will either prescribe an at-home therapy program, an in-clinic therapy program with Dr. Tackett and her nurses, or a combination of both.

Throughout the prescribed therapeutic workout regime, she will periodically repeat neuromuscular examinations, joint angle measurements, and muscle mass measurements to ensure your pet is progressing properly and that they are on track to achieving your goals for them.

PRP is a form of regenerative medicine that utilizes the body’s own cells to heal and regenerate damaged tissues. This can treat both acute and chronic injuries, including arthritis, soft tissue injuries and damaged tendons/ligaments. Injecting highly concentrated blood samples into the affected areas helps to recruit cells to that area to clean up injured cells and releases growth factors, which are responsible for tissue regeneration. PRP injections may be recommended as part of a multi-modality approach to treat your pet.

Dry needling for our pets uses thin needles to target tight muscles and myofascial trigger points, releasing spasms, reducing pain, improving blood flow, and restoring mobility. This is another option for treating arthritis or lameness as part of a multi-modality approach to healing. Dr. Tackett performs dry needling at Barks + Bliss often alongside other rehabilitation therapies like massage and stretching.

Medical laser therapy helps tissue repair by causing endorphin release; vasodilation, which increases blood flow to bring in oxygen and cells involved in the healing process; muscle relaxation; decreased inflammation; and faster healing and repair.

The clinical benefits of laser use in pets include decreased inflammation, decreased pain, and improved wound healing.  Laser therapy is used at Barks + Bliss for chronic arthritis, surgical incisions, tendon and ligament injuries, and traumatic injuries. Laser therapy is useful for pets with limited medical treatment options, such as pets with liver disease who cannot take medications; cats, for whom only a few pain-control medications are approved, and older pets with diminished organ function.

Dr. Tackett has an advanced certification in pain management. Pain management is a multi-modal approach to improving a patient’s quality of life. During a pain management consultation, you will discuss everything from weight and diet, nutritional supplements, regenerative and integrative medicine in addition to medications that help control pain. Dr. Tackett will work with your pet’s primary veterinarian to ensure that your pet’s entire medical team is on the same page. Our goal is to make your pet feel as comfortable as possible for as long as possible!

Dr. Tackett is dedicated to helping your pet have a better life and will customize a rehabilitation program tailored to your pet’s needs.

If you think your pet may benefit from physical therapy and would like more information, please call us at 254-781-5997.