CVMA conference, June 2009, Anaheim, CA

This was a 4 day conference mainly about conventional topics. I spent 1 day and ½ in lectures and hands on canine rehabilitation. Physical Therapy is a protected term used by human physical therapists, however veterinarians can become certified in canine rehabilitation and have the CCRT title.

The lecture and lab were given by Debra Canapp DVM, CCRT, CVA, and Sherman Canapp DVM, MS, CCRT, diplomat ACVS. I was really happy to See Debra again. We did our IVAS acupuncture course together in 2005-2006. She is certified in canine rehabilitation and she just opened a state of the art canine rehabilitation and surgery center with her husband in Maryland. She did incorporate acupuncture in her practice. As an athlete of many years and having dealt with some injuries, I can appreciate what physical therapy has to offer. I took the Tui Na course (Chinese body work) at the Chi Institute 2 years ago and can show owners how to stretch, do passive range of motion and do some massages on their pet. It does complement my acupuncture session very well. I will be taking more canine rehabilitation courses since I see a lot of geriatric pets (dogs and cats), post-op cases that would benefit from this added modality.

Like most human surgeons will send you in physical therapy after an orthopedic surgery or your primary care doctor will if you have an injury, I hope to see this trend increase with pets as well. It really helps their mobility, quality of life, and will likely decrease compensation injury later on. If a dog is lame on a rear leg, he/she will compensate with the opposite leg and put more weight on the front legs. Then, you see the emergence of front legs stiffness, soreness, injuries and the other rear leg may end up with some problems too. The senior dogs I am presented with are stiff, have limited passive range of motion and muscle soreness from compensating. This may have been decreased if taken care of earlier in their condition or at least controlled. Taking care of those old pets are truly an integrative approach (more on that later!). Canine rehabilitation will incorporate passive range of motion, stretching exercises, strengthening exercises, modalities to decrease pain and inflammation. The program is tailored to the patient’s life style and progress. For those who think only an underwater treadmill is the only way to achieve strengthening, think again. Depending of the case, a lot of therapeutic exercises are given to the owner to do at home with their pet. Swimming and underwater treadmills are great if you have them and need to be introduced at the right time in a rehabilitation program and for the right therapeutic reason.

Thinking about canine rehabilitation? Not done right, you can injure your pet, so it is important to seek trained veterinarians in this modality.

Charlie the Aussie

I saw Charlie last week. Seeing him again just reminded me how important it is to have a hard look at the food you’re giving your pet when faced with an overweight problem. Charlie is a 6 year old Aussie that was referred to me for weight loss about 2 years ago. Little did I know all the problems Charlie had: overweight, history of a cruciate rupture, a seizure disorder, hypothyroidism and allergies. Charlie needed the help of a sling to get up. Upon examination, Charlie had the worse back muscle spasm and a lot of pain in his hindquarters. We agreed to work on his weight loss/pain with acupuncture and looked at his diet. Literally, Charlie had 25 pounds to loose. It was even a challenge to locate acupuncture points on him, even when shaved. Looking at his diet, we figured he had a lower then normal calorie intake and ½ of them were coming from empty calories. Why wasn’t he losing weight?

Charlie started showing more energy after a few sessions of acupuncture and he was ultimately able to exercise more. Within a few months of acupuncture and a change of diet, he did not need his sling to get up. And he has now officially lost 15 pounds. Way to go Charlie!

There is no magical cure to lose weight or to maintain it. It is better to prevent obesity by a sound feeding plan from the get go and regular examinations. Weight loss in a healthy pet is done by restricting calories and increasing exercise. However, just decreasing the amount of food can lead to deficiencies if you are not giving the right diet. Some diets are expressly made for weight loss because they compensate for all the nutrients in face of a lower then normal amount of calorie intake. A home made diet can be formulated too if the owner wishes. Food is one of the key to loose weight, as well as exercise, looking at contributing health factors (hormonal disease, mobility problem, etc.) and examining the behavior associated with feeding (when is the meal served, owner’s belief, begging, snacks, treats, who feeds, etc). A sound weight loss program will look into all those different factors.

Please, do not change your pet’s diet or attempt a weight loss program before talking to your primary care veterinarian; you may do more harm then good. Some medications can see their blood level change with diet change (like Potassium Bromide).

Stay tune for a list of what obesity can lead to!