Land-based physiotherapy has been the treatment most commonly used where feline patients are referred for rehabilitation, but increasingly positive results are being seen in cats referred for hydrotherapy and in cases treated with acupuncture as part of a multidisciplinary team approach. Hydrotherapy includes the use of water treadmills and pools and can be used in a variety of rehabilitation cases including postoperative fractures, muscle wastage and some neurological conditions. Acupuncture is also well tolerated and is useful in some musculoskeletal and neurological problems.
The benefits of physical rehabilitation have been well documented in canine practice. It is far less applied and documented in feline practice and as such the benefits in treating feline patients are often missed and under utilised. There are many suitable physiotherapy techniques which can be successfully applied to the feline patient for the treatment of a variety of conditions. The key to successful rehabilitation is the early identification of suitable patients, an informative referral and the engagement of a correctly qualified physiotherapist to work as part of the multidisciplinary team both in acute and chronic conditions and in some cases as a preventative treatment.
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