Guest guest Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 You hit it right on the head when you said “push, nudge or shove” It sounds like she can walk, but doesn’t have the trunk stability to maintain standing position when she has to shift her weight to take steps. When standing nudge her so she works on her stabilizer muscles. Rocker board the rear feet with the front feet at the same level as the rear, and stand her and pick up 1 rear foot so she has to balance on 1 rear limb using her down leg and trunk. I hope this helps, Laurie McCauley, DVM TOPS Veterinary Rehabilitation Grayslake, IL drmc@... www.tops-vet-rehab.com From: VetRehab [mailto:VetRehab ] On Behalf Of boxerlover76 Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 9:37 AM To: VetRehab Subject: Lab Post Hemilam Ok I have an older lab that is 2 1/2months post op hemilam for IVDD at T13-L1. I have been working with her since Dec and have hit a wall. When she presented she was down in the rear and still on restricted activity but was 3 weeks post op. So I began PROM, stretching, weight bearing and UWT. She has responded well to all of these items and is now able to move around some on her own. She can get into a standing position and take 6-10 steps before she falls down. She can position herself to potty on her own no problem. Some weeks in the treadmill she barely needs any help from me at all (basically stand at her sides and keep her centered) then other weeks she requires pelvic support. I have the owners doing sit to stands at home and working on making her sit square, as well as weight bearing exercises and encourgaing her to get up and move on her own..I think she has become very accustomed to sling help. My question is what else can I be doing for her. I feel like she is right there on the verge of doing this on her own but I am not sure how to push,nudge or shove her forward. I also have the owners using a theraband as a sling instead of the normal to try and make her work a little harder. Thanks Jerri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 Maybe some of the wall is the need for nutritional support to the tissue. You said she is older. How old? What is her thyroid function? How is her overall body tone? Mental status? Is her autonomic nervous system balanced or is she parasympathetic dominant. This would make her run low on energy, have difficulty getting the drive to push on. I have attached a survey that can ferret some of this out. If you and the owners are interested in doing this I can score it for you and give you the results. Ava Ava Frick, DVMHartz 2006 Veterinarian of the Year Runner UpVeterinary Medical Director, EPI, Inc. Animal Fitness Centerwww.petbodybuilders.comphone: fax: Lab Post Hemilam Ok I have an older lab that is 2 1/2months post op hemilam for IVDD at T13-L1. I have been working with her since Dec and have hit a wall. When she presented she was down in the rear and still on restricted activity but was 3 weeks post op. So I began PROM, stretching, weight bearing and UWT. She has responded well to all of these items and is now able to move around some on her own. She can get into a standing position and take 6-10 steps before she falls down. She can position herself to potty on her own no problem. Some weeks in the treadmill she barely needs any help from me at all (basically stand at her sides and keep her centered) then other weeks she requires pelvic support. I have the owners doing sit to stands at home and working on making her sit square, as well as weight bearing exercises and encourgaing her to get up and move on her own..I think she has become very accustomed to sling help. My question is what else can I be doing for her. I feel like she is right there on the verge of doing this on her own but I am not sure how to push,nudge or shove her forward. I also have the owners using a theraband as a sling instead of the normal to try and make her work a little harder. ThanksJerri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 i recently had a dog with the same type of issues, One of the things Amie gave me that i worked on for the stabilizers is lifting contralateral limbs.. so right front and left back and getting them to stablize, then do the opposites. In a couple of weeks we had considerable improvement, and this is a great exercise owners can do at home... tania > You hit it right on the head when you said " push, nudge or shove " > > It sounds like she can walk, but doesn't have the trunk stability to > maintain standing position when she has to shift her weight to take steps. > When standing nudge her so she works on her stabilizer muscles. Rocker > board the rear feet with the front feet at the same level as the rear, and > stand her and pick up 1 rear foot so she has to balance on 1 rear limb using > her down leg and trunk. > > I hope this helps, > > Laurie McCauley, DVM > > TOPS Veterinary Rehabilitation > > Grayslake, IL > > drmc@... > > www.tops-vet-rehab.com > > > > > > > > _____ > > From: VetRehab [mailto:VetRehab ] On Behalf > Of boxerlover76 > Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 9:37 AM > To: VetRehab > Subject: Lab Post Hemilam > > > > Ok I have an older lab that is 2 1/2months post op hemilam for IVDD > at T13-L1. I have been working with her since Dec and have hit a > wall. > When she presented she was down in the rear and still on restricted > activity but was 3 weeks post op. So I began PROM, stretching, weight > bearing and UWT. She has responded well to all of these items and is > now able to move around some on her own. She can get into a standing > position and take 6-10 steps before she falls down. She can position > herself to potty on her own no problem. Some weeks in the treadmill > she barely needs any help from me at all (basically stand at her > sides and keep her centered) then other weeks she requires pelvic > support. > I have the owners doing sit to stands at home and working on making > her sit square, as well as weight bearing exercises and encourgaing > her to get up and move on her own..I think she has become very > accustomed to sling help. > My question is what else can I be doing for her. I feel like she is > right there on the verge of doing this on her own but I am not sure > how to push,nudge or shove her forward. > I also have the owners using a theraband as a sling instead of the > normal to try and make her work a little harder. > Thanks > Jerri > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 Great exercise, Tania! We call it 'Snoopy's' in pediatrics, because the kids resemble a dog when they do it, so it can be a little more motivating for them if they are having a tough time with it. If initially lifting the limbs is too difficult for the dogs, I first place contralateral limbs on a small support slightly raised from the ground. Easy for the owners to do at home with same sized books for example. I know targeting the trunk can be difficult in the canine, but so necessary. It is the single most important activity I do with my kiddos that are neurologically involved. It takes consistency, and can take some time to see results, but so worth it in the overall rehab picture. Of course, it's a bit more easier to come up with trunk activites in my two legged patients : ) Depending on the situation of the dog (i.e whether or not surgery was done, how long post surg etc. . . ) but if it's safe and not putting too much pressure on the spine, I like to do sidelying 'tummy crunches' with the dogs. This exercise can be tailored for all fitness levels. For example, if the dog is extremely weak, she can lie on her side. Present a treat for her to just start by lifting her head off the surface. If you place your hand at the lower abs, you should feel a slight contraction. (It doesn't seem like much motion but I went to a PT course where we hooked ourselves up to small hand held two lead EMGs and there was significant firing of the abs with this small motion). In the very weak (or down dogs), this may be all they can do but it's a starting point. As the dog gets stronger, you can encourage them to lift more of their body off the surface (i.e. head, neck, shoulder) before they prop themselves on their elbow. Once their elbow is planted, they are no longer using their abdominal muscles. You can play with where you place the treat as the dog is coming off the surface (moving it slightly forward, backward, etc. . . .) to engage different parts of the abs. Another way to tailor it to fitness levels is changing the amount of time the dog has to hold the contraction, and also encouraging them to slowly lower their trunk back down to the floor after they have raised thier trunk for the treat. This way they will also work the abs eccentrically (which I find is important if you are hitting a plateau). I also like to play with inclines and declines to play with the difficulty level. Jeanine Freeberg, PT, DPTTania wrote: i recently had a dog with the same type of issues, One of the things Amie gave me that i worked on for the stabilizers is lifting contralateral limbs.. so right front and left back and getting them to stablize, then do the opposites. In a couple of weeks we had considerable improvement, and this is a great exercise owners can do at home...tania> You hit it right on the head when you said "push, nudge or shove"> > It sounds like she can walk, but doesn't have the trunk stability to> maintain standing position when she has to shift her weight to take steps.> When standing nudge her so she works on her stabilizer muscles. Rocker> board the rear feet with the front feet at the same level as the rear, and> stand her and pick up 1 rear foot so she has to balance on 1 rear limb using> her down leg and trunk.> > I hope this helps,> > Laurie McCauley, DVM> > TOPS Veterinary Rehabilitation> > Grayslake, IL> > drmc@...> > www.tops-vet-rehab.com> > > > > > > > _____ > > From: VetRehab [mailto:VetRehab ] On Behalf> Of boxerlover76> Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 9:37 AM> To: VetRehab > Subject: Lab Post Hemilam> > > > Ok I have an older lab that is 2 1/2months post op hemilam for IVDD > at T13-L1. I have been working with her since Dec and have hit a > wall. > When she presented she was down in the rear and still on restricted > activity but was 3 weeks post op. So I began PROM, stretching, weight > bearing and UWT. She has responded well to all of these items and is > now able to move around some on her own. She can get into a standing > position and take 6-10 steps before she falls down. She can position > herself to potty on her own no problem. Some weeks in the treadmill > she barely needs any help from me at all (basically stand at her > sides and keep her centered) then other weeks she requires pelvic > support. > I have the owners doing sit to stands at home and working on making > her sit square, as well as weight bearing exercises and encourgaing > her to get up and move on her own..I think she has become very > accustomed to sling help. > My question is what else can I be doing for her. I feel like she is > right there on the verge of doing this on her own but I am not sure > how to push,nudge or shove her forward. > I also have the owners using a theraband as a sling instead of the > normal to try and make her work a little harder. > Thanks> Jerri> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.