Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Second Edition. Edited by Chris Zink and Janet B. Van Dyke.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Introduction to Canine

Rehabilitation

Amy Kramer, PT, DPT, CCRT, Amie Lamoreaux Hesbach, PT, DPT,

MS, CCRP, CCRT, and Shari Sprague, MPT, CCRT, FP‐ME, CCKTP

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Summary

As the practice of canine rehabilitation and sports medicine continues to evolve, roles

of  practitioners are more specialized as approaches become more advanced. Clinical

reasoning, care pathways, and specific applied interventions are adopted from the inter-

professional practice of human sports medicine, requiring knowledge and understanding

of the art and science of physical rehabilitation and related medical sciences. Contributing

to a multifaceted team, the rehabilitation professional must be able to synthesize informa-

tion related to the integrity and efficiency of the neuromusculoskeletal system, in coordi-

nation with other body systems, to affect the functional abilities of the patient. This is

accomplished through the examination and evaluation of the patient with the purpose

of  identifying medical comorbidities, specific impairments, functional limitations, and

disabilities. Understanding the interplay between the objective information collected

during the rehabilitation examination and evaluation, patient‐specific factors, and knowl-

edge of basic sciences, physics, and biomechanics will guide the therapist in establishing

a treatment plan that will ultimately contribute to the patient’s return to an optimal level

of function following injury, illness, or onset of a medical disorder or disease.

The purpose of this introductory chapter is to:

● Define the practice of canine rehabilitation.

● Describe various contributions of the different members of the interprofessional

canine rehabilitation team.

● Discuss the history and evolution of the practice of canine rehabilitation in the

United States and internationally.

● Describe the practice of physical therapy as it pertains to the management of the

canine rehabilitation patient.

● Discuss specific physiological considerations for the canine rehabilitation therapist

when planning rehabilitation interventions.

● Describe patient management and treatment planning methods by which the canine

rehabilitation therapist coordinates the implementation of treatment strategies and

interventions.