Physiotherapy - Active physiotherapy

What is active physiotherapy?

Patient actively using the muscles/joints (can be assisted)

Active physiotherapy

- Patient actively using the muscle/joints

- Reduce joint and muscle stiffness

- Promote recovery and built up physical strength and mobility

Examples of active physiotherapy..

- Assisted standing/walking

- Balance exercises

- Sit to stand

- Incline exercises

- Cavaletti Rails

- Hydrotherapy

Assisted Standing/Walking

- Use a sling/towel to get the patient standing

- Assists with proprioception

Aim of assisted standing/walking

Helps to build patients strength

Balance Exercises

- Once patient has increased some strength, balance exercises can be used

- Number of different things can be used

Sit to Stand

- Encouraging the patient to sit or stand will increase joint mobility and hind limb strength

- Particularly useful following stifle injury

Incline exercises

- Useful for increasing ROM especially in hind limb joints

- Helps increase proprioception

- Can be advanced by increasing inclines and adding resistance

- Stair climbing can also be used

Cavaletti Rails

- Uses poles equally spaced apart

- Improves gait and proprioception

- Can be made more difficult when patient advances

Hydrotherapy

- Provides non weight bearing exercise and heat therapy

- Stimulates voluntary muscle movement, increases circulation and soothes muscle spasm

- Beneficial for most neurological and orthopaedic conditions

Hydrotherapy: Different modalities

- Underwater treadmill

- Hydrotherapy pool

Contradictions to hydrotherapy

- Open wounds

- Gastrointestinal issues and contagious diseases

- Pyrexia

- Systemic compromise (cardiac, liver, kidney disease)

- Skin infection

- Uncontrolled epilepsy

- Vestibular syndrome

- Water phobia

- Incontinence