Effects of postoperative physiotherapy in 11 dogs with intervertebral disc herniation.

Abstract

Physiotherapy is a discipline that is becoming more important in veterinary medicine, mainly in dogs, and it has the aim to accelerate the recovery of patients after an injury or an illness as common as intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). The objectives of this project are to know the techniques that are applicable in IVDD rehabilitation, to expose the basic procedures that could be carried out in any clinic and to know which rehabilitation plan is the most appropriate according to each case. The methodology was based on a bibliographic search of scientific articles, veterinary journals, and reference books. Also, the study was carried out at the Veterinary Clinic Hospital of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In this study, 11 dogs were diagnosed with IVDD. The corresponding surgery was performed using different techniques depending on the affected area and subjected to early postoperative physiotherapy. The purpose was to evaluate the clinical recovery after surgical decompression of the hernia and especially after physiotherapy.