What we can learn about rehab from my dog

Miss Molly May is my adorable, high energy, full-sized labradoodle. She’s five years old, and has just undergone a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy for her right rear knee. Essentially she damaged the dog equivalent of her cruciate ligament because she’s an idiot. Well, she’s a dog who adores chasing the B-A-L-L and the F-R-I-S-B-E-E and any random S-T-I-C-K at full speed, turning really fast to catch it before anyone else gets to it. Five weeks ago she was seen by our local general practice vet, referred to animal physio (click) and comprehensively examined there, then referred to the Animal Orthopaedics Vet. She had imaging, we discussed treatment options in detail, and three weeks ago she had her surgery. So far nothing terribly unique, right? Oh but wait! What was so outstanding? Communication First up, communication between all three of the services was seamless. From the first appointment all the notes were accessible by all the team. The imaging, the physical assessment, the surgical notes, the progress notes. We got an entire package of care including a week-by-week walking and exercise protocol. The package included four physio visits and the follow-up orthopaedic review. The information package included a handout on pain, illness behaviour and how the team would approach any behavioural issues. There’s even membership to the Pet Neuropark where Miss Molly can go for nature sniffing and walking in a safe place without other do...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Coping strategies biopsychosocial Clinical reasoning Health healthcare Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs