Tyler is a 7 year old male Golden Retriever   diagnosed at an early age with hip dysplasia. He had a femoral head excision at 7 ½ months of age, and again at 2 years of age.   He had a total hip replacement on the left hand side at 3 years of age. The right limb continued to be a problem, and Tyler had a total hip replacement on this side also at 4 ½ years of age.

Unfortunately the implant loosened and Tyler had to have the right limb amputated. Since then he has continued to swim between 3-7 days per week. Although he functions very well on 3 legs, swimming is very beneficial for Tyler to maintain strength in the left limb and as an alternative form of exercise to take the stress off the left limb, plus he loves the water!

Amy is a 12 year old female golden retriever, with spondylosis (arthritis of the spine) diagnosed at 3 years of age and hip dysplasia affecting the right more than the left hip. A total hip replacement was suggested, but her owner was reluctant. She also had arthritis in her toes of the front feet. She was quite stiff and slow with her walking when she started physiotherapy 2 ½ years ago!

When I first saw Amy she was having massage therapy weekly, and acupuncture once per month. Her owner was interested in anything physiotherapy could offer. Amy had a very stiff and painful spine, but was not too lame on the hind limbs. Amy has been attending for physiotherapy fortnightly since then. Her treatment consists of mobilization and massage to her spine, along with spinal traction, mobilization to her toes and laser treatment for pain. She responds well to physiotherapy, with improvements in spinal mobility, ease of getting up, and reduced lameness. Her owner also has supportive bedding for her at home. Physiotherapy plays an important role in the management of Amy's conditions. Combining physiotherapy with acupuncture has proved worthwhile to the management of her problems.

Sandy is an 11 year old female Jack Russell Terrier, who sustained a right shoulder subluxation and fracture after being hit by a car. She required 2 surgeries to properly repair the shoulder. She came to physiotherapy 3 weeks after being in a sling. The limb would not touch the ground. Sandy had much muscle wasting in the right front limb, along with severe contractures of the right elbow and wrist joints, making it difficult for the limb to reach the ground.

Physiotherapy for Sandy included splinting of the limb to stretch the stiffened joints, massage and passive stretches to the limb, laser treatment to reduce the scar tissue around the shoulder, and swimming several times per week. Three weeks later she started using the limb, but only for short periods at a time. Splinting continued for 2 months to stretch the wrist in particular. Six weeks after physiotherapy commenced, Sandy was able to use the leg continually, but was still limping.

Two months after physiotherapy commenced, no lameness was detected in the right forelimb and the joints had full range of motion. And we thought this leg may have to be amputated!