New Haven Animal Rehabilitation Center
FAQ’s

What is Veterinary Physical Rehabilitation?

Physical rehabilitation is a veterinary specialty that can include many treatment modalities, such as acupuncture, laser therapy, massage therapy, and therapeutic exercises.

 

Do I Need a Referral to Start a Rehabilitation Program for my Pet?

While an official referral is not required, we would HIGHLY recommend having your pet assessed by your regular veterinarian before bringing them in for a consultation. This way, we can start off with an official (or at least presumptive) diagnosis and have any diagnostics (such as xrays, MRI, CT, etc.) on hand and already analyzed by our rehab veterinarian. Seeing your primary veterinarian first will also make sure your pet is a good candidate for a rehab program – for instance, a broken bone would likely need surgery BEFORE starting a rehab program, and a “swelling” of a pet’s limb/joint may actually be a mass.

 

What Can Physical Rehabilitation Do For My Pet?

Physical rehabilitation can do a lot of different things, but the main goals of this specialty include: decreasing pain, decreasing inflammation, improving healing, improving mobility, improving quality of life, and improving neurologic function.

 

Is Physical Rehabilitation Safe?

Yes! While each treatment modality has different ways of affecting a cell, they all work to enhance what the body is already capable of doing – similar to when you take more vitamin C when you’re sick, to give your immune system a boost – this means there are normally no/few side effects seen. Usually, the only thing we ask pet parents to look out for after a treatment session is fatigue, similar to the tiredness humans can feel after a massage or acupuncture treatment themselves. However, if a pet comes in already pretty painful, it’s possible for them to also be sore that afternoon and/or the next day – although we try to minimize this as much as we can by providing you with any recommended pain medications and/or supplements.

 

How Does Physical Rehabilitation Work?

Each modality affects the cells in a different way, which is why we often recommend multiple modalities for one problem (such as pain) – so we can hit the problem from multiple angles and help improve your pets as quickly as possible. Below is a brief overview of the research on how each treatment modality provides their benefits:

• Acupuncture: stimulates opioid and endorphin release to help decrease pain, increases blood flow to help bring in nutrients and help remove toxins, and stimulates nerves to help improve neurologic function

• Laser Therapy (also known as “Photobiomodulation Therapy”): stimulates the cell’s mitochondria (the “powerhouse”) to produce more energy, allowing the cell to do all it’s normal functions (such as removing toxins, and going through the healing process) a lot faster than normal

• Massage Therapy: reduces pain and stress hormones (such as cortisol); increases serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin production to help decrease pain; reduces lactic acid build up, which helps decrease post-exercise muscle soreness

• Cold/Heat Therapy: decreases inflammation and pain, increases joint mobility/flexibility, and improves healing

• Therapeutic Exercises: improves arthritic pain, improves strength and endurance, improves mobility/flexibility, restores physical function

 

Who Can Benefit From Physical Rehabilitation?

Just like us humans, almost any pet could benefit from some physical rehabilitation. The more common reasons we have pets come to see us is for concerns with pain, inflammation, mobility, and quality of life that comes with diseases/issues such as:

• Arthritis

• Hip or elbow dysplasia

• Torn knee ligament(s)

• After a surgery (for an injury, or due to a chronic disease)

• Before surgery (to prepare your pet for surgery, and help improve recovery time)

• Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD, also sometimes referred to as a “pinched nerve”)

• Fibrocartilaginous Embolism (FCE)

• Spondylosis

• Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)

• After a limb amputation

• Weakness

• Palliative care

However, pets can also benefit from physical rehabilitation if you’re looking to help them:

• Lose weight

• Manage chronic kidney disease

• Gain strength and/or endurance

• Improve their mobility

• From losing their mobility/comfort

 

Do You Work With Cats?

Yes! We work with cats to help with the same issues as dogs (such as arthritis and post-surgery recovery), as well as various issues that are more commonly seen in cats – such as chronic kidney disease, asthma, and chronic/recurrent urinary tract diseases.

 

Does Physical Rehabilitation Really Work?

While every pet (like humans) responds differently to each treatment modality, the grand majority of the patients we treat have noticeable improvement. The main question is whether the improvement is worth continuing with physical rehabilitation or not. If you have questions as to whether or not your pet could benefit from physical rehabilitation, please feel free to set up an initial consultation appointment and/or send us an email with your questions to NewHavenptRehab@gmail.com

 

I Don’t Want my Pet to be on Medications, Will Physical Rehabilitation Help With This?

One of our main goals is to keep pets as comfortable as possible, which sometimes means doing rehabilitation, along with pain medications. Sometimes we can use these medications just at the beginning of this process, while we give the rehabilitation treatments time to build up to their full potential, but sometimes we recommend pets stay on pain medications life-long (although we try to get their dose as low as possible, while still keeping them comfortable).

 

I’m Trying to Avoid Surgery, Will Physical Rehabilitation Help With This?

While most injuries usually have the best long-term prognosis with surgery, we know that not every pet is eligible for this. So yes, in some situations it is possible for pets to heal with physical rehabilitation alone – however, this is usually a longer process and pets may be prone to more issues (such as arthritis) in the future. Please also keep in mind, if you’re avoiding surgery because you find it hard to restrict your pet’s activity, we will likely still be recommending activity restriction as well. However, there are anti-anxiety medications that can be used temporarily to keep your pet from being too active, and hurting themselves further. Please feel free to discuss this with our team and/or your regular veterinarian.

 

Can you Help me Find a “Wheelchair” for my Pet?

Yes, we work with various pet wheelchair companies that produce wheels to help support your pet’s back limbs, front limbs, or both. With some training and patience, pets usually do very well with these devices, and they usually allow your pets more freedom and a better quality of life. These devices can be used with pets that have no movement in their limb(s), pets that have become weak and need assistance walking, or for pets that have lost a limb and need some support for longer walks. We are able to recommend a specific company/type of chair, perform any measurements needed, build the wheelchair for you, and/or have your pet come in with their chair to make sure it is properly adjusted for their safety and comfort. If you have questions about these services, please feel free to call us for more details.

 

My Pet is Usually Not Good at the Vet, Are They Still Eligible for Physical Rehabilitation?

Yes! We have many pets that are often anxious at the “regular” vet, but eventually love coming to their rehabilitation sessions. However, sometimes we do have to start their rehabilitation journey with anti-anxiety medications to get them to a level where they’re open to giving us a chance. Usually, once they realize we’re not the “regular” vet (and they realize we have lots of treats), we’re able to reduce and/or eliminate the anti-anxiety medication during the last few visits. In severe cases, we may only be able to do an initial consultation appointment, where we can give you specific directions on what you can do at home to help your pet with their problem(s).

 

Where are you Located?

We are currently located within the New Haven Animal Hospital at 3450 Ontario Ranch Rd Suite #6, Ontario, CA 91761. Please be aware that, while the general practice is a fully functioning veterinary facility, the rehabilitation department only deals with rehab services. Therefore, if you were interested in doing something like xrays, bloodwork recheck, etc. we would recommend scheduling these with your regular veterinarian.

 

What Does the Price Include?

With the initial consultation appointment fee, your pet will have a thorough rehabilitation examination, and personalized recommendations about what treatment modalities would be best for them, therapeutic exercises, ergonomic changes at home, supplements, etc. The price also includes their first treatment session, which would include all of the recommended treatment modalities (with no “extra fees” for any of the modalities). If you decide to proceed with the recommended rehabilitation program, the treatment appointments will either be 25 or 50 minutes long, and the price you pay will continue to include all of the recommended treatment modalities – even if we decide to switch things up throughout their rehabilitation journey. Please feel free to give us a call for further pricing details.

 

How Can I Get My Pet Started With Physical Rehabilitation?

To get the process started, we’d recommend giving us a call at (909-235-4992) to request an initial consultation appointment with our physical rehabilitation department. Once we receive your request, we will contact you to get your and your pet’s information, and set a time and date for your appointment. We will then work with any veterinary hospitals your pet has been seen at for their current medical issue, so that our team is able to have a thorough medical history. We will also email you a questionnaire that focuses on what you’re seeing at home, so we can have as full a picture as possible. If you’re not able to fill this out before your appointment, please be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early for your appointment to fill out the paper questionnaire.

 

What Should I Expect at the Initial Consultation Appointment?

During an initial consultation appointment, a rehabilitation examination will be performed by our rehabilitation and acupuncture certified veterinarian. We will then discuss the exam findings, go over the recommended treatment modalities, discuss how frequent your pet should see us, and for how long. We will also discuss possible changes/additions for at home – such as starting oral and/or injectable supplements, discussing any weight loss goals, adding some ramps/pet stairs/rugs at home, discussing recommended exercises and activity restrictions, etc. After this discussion, we will then start the recommended treatment modalities, and discuss any possible side effects you may see at home (please see the “Is Physical Rehabilitation Safe?” section for more information on this).

 

What Happens After the Initial Consultation?

After the initial appointment, your pet will be coming in for treatment appointments, where the recommended treatment modalities will be used. Owners are welcome and encouraged to stay during these appointments, however if your pet does better without you present, you’re free to wait elsewhere during the treatment session, but please know we do not do “drop off” appointments, where pets stay with us outside of their scheduled appointment. Once your pet has improved and is ready for it, we will set up a recheck exam, where we perform another thorough rehabilitation examination and discuss a new plan – which may be “graduating” from the rehabilitation program, or discussing long-term goals if we’re dealing with something chronic (like arthritis). We will give you an estimated time frame for when this recheck exam should happen during your initial consult, however, if you feel your pet needs a recheck sooner than what we recommended, please feel free to let us know and we can schedule this for you.

 

How Long Does This Whole Process Take?

The initial consultation appointment is about an hour in duration, and the treatment appointments after this will either be 25 or 50 minute appointments, depending on what is recommended during the initial appointment. As for how long your pet will need physical rehabilitation for, on average, we usually work with pets for about 2-3 months, but this can vary, depending on what their main problem(s) is/are, and how they’re responding to therapy. The biggest reason we see for setbacks is when pets become too active, too quickly at home, so please be sure to keep an eye on this! Please also keep in mind some diseases are not curable (such as arthritis, or hip/elbow dysplasia), and the best we can do is help manage it – which means we may be seeing your pet for the rest of their lives, although we try to get the frequency of their visits as low as possible (such as once a month, once every 6 months, etc.).

 

Do You Have a Water Treadmill?

No, we do not currently have a water treadmill. However, we usually provide a personalized therapeutic exercise program to our patients (unless they are too painful), and your pet can still benefit greatly from this! While doing these exercises, you will also be creating memories, bonding with your pet, helping them become more comfortable, helping them become stronger, and improving their quality of life. In addition to this, these exercises can provide great mental stimulation, and can improve cognitive function. However, if we feel your pet would get better benefits from hydrotherapy, we will gladly provide you with information on local facilities that have a water treadmill with a certified professional.

 

What Is Expected of Me At Home?

In the majority of cases, we will be recommending some at home exercises, which are usually used to strengthen your pet, and are a great way of further deepening your bond with your pet. However, if you think this would be difficult to do (either due to time or physical constraints), please discuss this with the veterinarian at your initial consult. Depending on our goals, these are usually recommended to be done 1-2 times a day, and usually take anywhere from a few minutes to 10-20 minutes (depending on how cooperative your pet is at home and how many exercises are recommended) – although the duration of these sessions usually improves as your pet gets used to the exercises and is more familiar with what you’re asking of them. We will also be discussing any ergonomic changes we recommend at home – such as adding in some ramps, working on helping your pet lose weight, adding rugs to slick floors, purchasing a harness, etc. – during our initial consult.

 

My Pet Just Had a Treatment and Seems More Painful, Is This Normal?

We often have patients that seem to improve after their treatment sessions, but then worsen a few days later. This often happens when pets are allowed to become too active, too quickly. Many pets feel significantly better after starting treatment, so they start doing activities they may not have been able to do for weeks, or even years, which is great news! But we want to be sure we don’t let them get too carried away, otherwise they can become sore or more painful the next day. Similar to if the average human were to run a marathon with no training – some of us may be able to do it in the moment, but we’d all be feeling it the next few days.

 

I Live Far Away and I Don’t Think I’d be Able to Take my Pet in Very Frequently, is That Okay?

This depends a lot on what problem(s) your pet is dealing with. However, if it’s difficult for you to get to us for whatever reason, we can certainly do an initial consult appointment, where we can provide you with some at-home recommendations that will help your pet get to your goals as quickly as possible.

 

What if my Pet has Officially Graduated from their Rehabilitation Program, but I Want to Continue Bringing my Pet in for Maintenance?

This is something we can certainly accommodate, as there are some disease (such as arthritis) that cannot be “cured” and can only be managed. In these situations, we will usually discuss long term goals during your pet’s Recheck appointment. However, if your pet does not have a chronic issue and you’d still like to continue bringing them in for treatments, please feel free to bring this up at the Recheck appointment, and/or email us at NewHavenptRehab@gmail.com

 

What If I Have More Questions?

If you have questions that were not answered here, or you have questions after a visit with us, we recommend emailing us at NewHavenptRehab@gmail.com at your earliest convenience. We try our hardest to respond to all emails within 1-2 business days. However, if your pet is experiencing an emergency (or you need a response sooner that 1-2 business days), please feel free to call the hospital at 909-235-4992, or an emergency clinic if you are calling after hours (such as the California Veterinary Specialists in Ontario at 909-947-3600).