Welcome to

Emily Shaw

Veterinary Physiotherapy

A mobile service covering Worcestershire, Warwickshire and the surrounding areas from a fully qualified and insured Veterinary physiotherapist registered with IRVAP.

What is Veterinary Physiotherapy?

Veterinary Physiotherapy is a science-based profession which uses a holistic approach to treat an individual animal. Veterinary physiotherapy uses a range of non-invasive techniques such as manual therapy, electrotherapies and remedial exercise prescriptions to alleviate pain, promote healing, increase mobility and enhance performance. All treatment is tailored to each animal to treat a variety of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions, including pre and post-surgical conditions, performance enhancement and senior patient support. All animals can benefit from maintenance treatments, even if they do not have any diagnosed conditions.

Veterinary Physiotherapy main aims are to reduce pain, accelerate healing, improve the quality of life, maintain, promote and restore optimal function whilst preventing injury.

Emily Shaw Veterinary Physiotherapy is dedicated to providing a service which improves your animal's performance, mobility and injury recovery. Emily works as part of a multidisciplinary team including referring veterinary surgeons and other para-professionals to ensure all aspects of physiotherapy, and rehabilitation are specific to the animal's individual requirements.

FAQs

Signs your animal could benefit from physiotherapy

Common signs which could affect your dog's quality of life, mobility or performance and therefore may benefit from a physiotherapy treatment include:

Lameness
Injury
Uneven muscle tone
Weight shifting
Reluctance to get in and out of the car
Reluctance to go up and down stairs
Slowing down
Behavioral changes
Stiffness
Unwilling to be touched/groomed
Swelling/ inflammation to affected area

Common signs which could indicate your horse may benefit from a physiotherapy treatment to improve their quality of life, mobility or performance include:

Lameness
Injury
Uneven muscle tone
Weight shifting
Poor saddle fit
Slowing down
Difficulty going down/uphill
Behavioural changes
Changes in performance (rushing, refusing to jump)
Stiffness
Unwilling to be touched/groomed
Swelling/ inflammation to affected area
Toe dragging
Excessive tail swishing
Altered gait
Inability to stand square
Lack of top-line
Poor transitions

What to expect

Your animal will firstly be booked in for an initial consultation session. Any relevant information/history about you and your animal will be discussed and taken, as well as any clinical history from your veterinary surgeon will be obtained. Information such as home environment, daily routine, exercise level, medication, reason for referral/ treatment and goals will also be taken and discussed. This will help us to prepare a tailor-made rehabilitation or exercise plan, to treat any areas of soreness and imbalances.

From this, your animal will then be assessed statically and dynamically from all angles. Lunging or ridden assessment may be required for horses.

A palpation assessment will then be carried out. Tissues and joints will be assessed to identify any areas of pain, heat, swelling or change in muscle tone and size, as well as to detect any muscle or joint restrictions. Key findings from the assessments will direct the treatment and rehabilitation. However, if there is a lameness or underlying issue that is not explained by a musculoskeletal restriction, we may need to refer you back to your vet for an assessment before the treatment can begin. This is to ensure that there is no underlying injury, disorder or condition that may be worsened by the treatment and exercise prescription.

Depending upon what is found during the assessments, a variety of treatment modalities will be used in order to improve muscle quality and joint range of motion. This will allow your animal to development a better posture and gait. A tailored exercise prescription will be created to suit your animal's individual needs. Through this, your animal can continue to make progress between treatments. All exercises will be demonstrated before the session ends.

A report will be written and given to you after the treatment session, including any exercise prescriptions and what was found during the session. We will provide a veterinary report directly to the referring vet in remedial cases.

24hrs rest after the appointment is recommended, however this will be discussed on the day as each case will vary. After the first session, it is recommended to have the follow-up session soon after to make sure that the exercises are the right fit for you and your animal as well as a second treatment to aid the body to maintain suppleness and mobility.

Support will always be available and for any questions you may have.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any other questions or would like to discuss our treatment options, please contact us.

Do I need a refferal from my Vet?

If your animal is currently being treated by a vet for lameness or poor performance, veterinary consent is required. Veterinary consent is not required for maintenance or competition care if the animal is fit, sound and healthy with no diagnosis.

How often does my animal need treatment?

Each animal and each treatment is individual, so there is no 'one size fits all'. Treatment will depend on the severity of the condition being treated and how long it has been a problem, as well as any findings during the initial assessment.