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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Summary

Rehabilitation evaluation of orthopedic conditions includes six components: capturing

subjective data, obtaining objective findings, completing a problem list, developing an

assessment, building a treatment plan, and re‐evaluating for treatment efficacy.

Capturing subjective data occurs with the client and includes the client’s subjective

perception of the patient’s current condition, history of the present injury, the client’s

goals for their animal, and a thorough medical history from the referring veterinarian

including diagnostics and medications. Objective data are then obtained during the

hands‐on portion of the evaluation and includes posture, function, strength, gait, pal-

pation, passive range of motion, muscle flexibility, clearing the spine, joint play, and

special tests. Findings from each of these areas are placed on a problem list. The prob-

lem list is critically analyzed by the therapist to develop a working hypothesis, an

assessment, that explains all the findings on the problem list. The assessment may be

an expansion of the primary orthopedic diagnosis, including the sequelae of the pri-

mary diagnosis, and it may also include underlying physical limitations that may not

be associated with the primary orthopedic condition. To build the treatment plan, the

problem list is prioritized starting with pain, then primary tissue type injured, followed

by sequelae. The treatment plan is then executed and may include modalities, manual

therapies, and therapeutic exercise, each of which follows physiologically based levels

of frequency, intensity, and duration. Treatment efficacy is then re‐evaluated within a

session and over a course of treatment to ensure treatment effectiveness. Treatments

may be modified within a treatment session or over the course of a treatment plan.

When re‐evaluation reveals the patient has reached the rehabilitation goals, they are

discharged to a health maintenance program.

Evaluation and Rehabilitation

Options for Orthopedic

Disorders of the Canine

Thoracic Limb

Sasha A. Foster, MSPT, CCRT

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