Dr. Jessica Bunch reviews new pet physical therapy book.
Animal Rehabilitation As a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist at Kulshan Veterinary Hospital, I was recently asked by a publishing company to review a new book written for the pet owner/consumer about physical therapy/rehabilitation.
Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for Animals (A Guide For The Consumer) was written by Susan E. Davis, PT. Ms. Davis is a licensed physical therapist who transitioned from human to veterinary physical therapy practice. The purpose of this book was to explain the benefits and opportunities physical therapy can provide for your pet as well as educating the client on the many different conditions physical therapy can help treat.
Overall I was impressed and pleased with the content of this book. In the beginning chapter, the author gives the reader a history of physical therapy and how it has been transitioned to the veterinary field. The next chapter entails choosing a therapist and expectations, followed by several chapters explaining the different treatment modalities, techniques and equipment used in physical therapy.
After a comprehensive explanation of physical therapy and its modalities, the author then spends a good portion of the book explaining the different conditions physical therapy can benefit including a section on performance animals. These chapters cover many orthopedic, neurologic, and medical conditions and are presented in an easy to understand manner for any pet owner. The final chapters detail expectations of care and brief descriptions of other miscellaneous topics such as acupuncture, supportive devices (splints, wraps, braces), chiropractic, etc. The author ends with some of her own personal beliefs and views that are well said and worth consideration. There is also an appendix at the end of the book with helpful resources.
I felt that this book was very well written, comprehensive, and easy for the pet owner/consumer to understand. My only complaint/recommendation would be the lack of pictures in the book. I feel some of the exercises and equipment could have been better described it pictures would have been included, although these may have been excluded on purpose to allow the physical/rehabilitation therapist to provide you with these as deemed appropriate for you pet and it’s condition. Overall Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for Animals (A Guide For The Consumer) is a great resource for any pet owner interested in physical therapy for their pet.
Jessica Bunch, DVM, CCRT
