Laurie's Blogs.

The yoga class I go to is friendly and chatty.  It’s a great group of (mostly) ladies (now and then we get a fellow that joins us), and the premise of the class is to ‘workshop’ a different pose (break it down so that we are doing it properly) as well as do a flow sequence. Today the gal beside me was having issues with her ‘hamstring’ on one side.  She was describing how it felt when she was stretching and in different poses.  As she continued to describe it, she mentioned that it had happened once before, and that time one of her ribs was 'out'. So within her discussion, she figured it out that she needed to go to physio again!

As well today, another physical therapist / canine therapist friend had commented that she had noted that her dog’s ear was a bit crooked.  It had been that way for a couple of weeks.  So she just checked out his C1 and found that it was rotated and side bent.  He had displayed no symptoms at all, and was actively competing in agility and doing his conditioning exercises etc.  Fortunately, because my friend was a PT with the canine rehab training, she questioned the asymmetric ear posture, knew what to look for, and fixed that problem.  But what about all of the dogs out there whose owners don’t know what to look for?  What about the dogs that don’t show much in the way of symptoms and so never get brought in for treatment?

My point?  My point is that I hear it time and time again from the PT profession that the goal should be to discharge a patient when you get them better.  (The most recent spin on that theme was that the ‘best advertising’ was people who were better and ‘fixed’ singing your praises.)  While that is all well and fine and a very altruistic goal, I wonder about that cases as described above.

Humans have the advantage of feeling their own aches and pains and can seek remediation for them.  Even so, it would likely be beneficial to have check ups and tune-ups on a regular basis for the multitude of aches and pains that most people experience on a regular basis.  Yes, a person could go to physio on a more frequent basis when they have an acute injury, but perhaps for those that otherwise feel ‘okay’, maybe a monthly check up would be smart?  A physio could check on spine, pelvis, ribs, muscle strength, posture, etc.  There would always be something to work on!  Perhaps we’d all feel better if we did that.

Now dogs on the other hand can’t tell us when something is sore or not quite right.  Subsequently, one could say that even more than a human, a dog should have a regular check up.  Traditional vet medicine recommends a yearly check up.  From a physical standpoint, I recommend seeing ‘normal dogs’ quarterly, or at minimum twice a year.  There’s a lot that can happen to a dog.  The sporting dogs likely need a monthly treatment.  More is being asked of them on a more regular basis.  Geriatric dogs could easily be seen once a month as well!

So, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  There’s no such thing as a normal human body!  Very few dogs have nothing to worked on either.  Your job is to sell the routine check-up and to find the problems!  So, yes, have your goal be to discharge your patients from active treatment, but then progress them to a maintenance schedule.  

The bonus with maintenance is that you find issues early, before they become bigger problems.  That’s good for the dog!  But also seeing the dog owner on a regular basis is good for your client-therapist-patient relationship.  I cannot say enough good things about establishing a strong relationship with your clients.  It’s good for your business and it’s good for your mental health (and the owner’s & dog’s as well).  So get those dogs coming back!  It’ll do wonders for everyone all around!