Abbie loves competing with her owner in agility. She was referred to Burnside by her vet following an injury to her front leg which caused her to become lame quite suddenly. Bony injury was ruled out and soft tissue injury seemed to be the cause. She was prescribed a short course of anti-inflammatories by the vet and came to us for rehabilitation before returning to agility.

Abbie started by coming to see us twice a week. Her treatments included a mixture of soft tissue work, LASER therapy and home exercises to encourage her to start using the front leg normally again. She then commenced a short course of hydrotherapy to help strengthen the leg. Abbie wasn't a big fan of the water at first but with some careful handling and a quiet approach she settled down and completed her programme.

Abbie is now back to her training and competing career and has gone on to win many rosettes and trophies. She still visits us every 6 weeks for a check up and MOT, to work on any niggles and tension so that future injuries are prevented. We look forward to our monthly hug from Abbie!

Border Collie, aged 8

Abbie

Max tore his cranial cruciate ligament in one of his knees, this is the ligament that helps stabilise the knee joint and stops it slipping about. Max underwent surgery on his knee (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy - TPLO) that involved using metal to stabilise the knee joint. The vets deemed that the other knee would also need to be done once he had recovered from the first surgery as this looked quite unstable as well.

Max began by coming for hydrotherapy twice a week and his dedicated owner commenced a home exercise programme that aimed to increase strength in the back legs and improve range of movement in the knee joint. He also received some LASER therapy to help reduce inflammation and promote healing of the surgical site.

Max took really well to the water and used his leg really well in the water. He now has full movement and strength back in the leg. Max's vets are so pleased with how the other leg is doing he now won't have to have further surgery for the time being. Max is back to his normal walks and still enjoys coming every three weeks for maintenance hydrotherapy and physiotherapy sessions so we can keep an eye on the back legs and get on top of any problems quickly.

Golden Retriever, aged 12

Max

At 6 months of age Alfie started limping and was diagnosed by the vets as having Legge-Perthes disease in his hip. Legge Perthes disease is where the ball part of the hip joint starts to die and disintegrate due to the blood supply being interrupted somehow. The best course of action is to surgically remove the ball of the femur bone (something called a Femoral Head and Neck Excision, FHNE) and allow the hip to form a new false joint from cartilage. The procedure allows the dog to use the leg pain free.

Alfie had his surgery done and was referred to us afterwards as it is essential to strengthen the muscles around the hip to support the new joint that is forming. Alfie started with twice weekly appointments which include a mixture of physiotherapy techniques and hydrotherapy. He had home exercises to do to encourage him to weight bear on the leg as he was a little reluctant initially. He started a programme of hydrotherapy and took to the water like a duck - Alfie may be pint sized but he has a strong swim action!

Alfie progressed to our dry land treadmill where we used some weighted cuffs on his legs to help build the last bit of muscle and introduce him back to dry land. We also did work on the wobble cushions and boards to help strengthen the ligaments around the hip and improve his core stability.

Alfie is now back to living a normal and full life, enjoying his walks and managing to keep up with his 3 siblings!

Affenpinscher, aged 1

Alfie