Laurie's Blogs.

The Results of the Survey are IN!!!

I was please to get 28 responses to this survey!  That’s not bad for a quick turnaround!  Here are the questions and answers!  Enjoy!

100% of the respondents prescribe home programs.  When asked what was included, the responses were as follows:

The responses in the “other” category were: “Active stretches not passive”, “I give range of motion exercises rather than stretches”, “I tend to give active stretches more often than passive ones. Cookie stretch is fav.”

When asked how many exercises or therapies were prescribed (not including home management advice), 46.4% of respondents prescribed 1 – 3, 39.3% prescribe 4 – 6, and 3.6% prescribe 7 – 10.  The ‘other’ category included three answers:  3 – 5 exercises; 1 – 3 for pet owners, and 4 – 6 for sports owners, and; “Probably use a wider range depending on owner/patient i.e. more likely to typically be between 2-6 exercises across all patients.”

When asked about the use of exercise prescription software, the answer was as follows.  One respondent noted a preference for doing their own videos.

The last question was an open answer one.  I always like to read these answers.  So, I’m just going to put them here for all of you to read as well!

Is there anything you'd like to share about your home exercise / therapy prescription habits?

• I always get them to demonstrate back, but also start next session with them re demonstrating what they have been doing through the week, as this way I spot if any moves are incorrect, can do my movement assessment while they do so plus dog gets warmed up prior to my therapy treatments xxx Also, I get them to write them down, giving paper and pen, as they seem to work better that way than giving a ready-made print out. I then find them already asking before I get to say it: how long, how often, etc… as they start thinking, and not just consuming - I think this psychology and their own active input makes them more committed. Owner compliance can be an issue, so again, I ask the next time how often they did it and how it went etc. -actively checking homework- so they also get it that it IS so very important. That way too we can in- or decrease reps or difficulty based on how progress is xxx

• Everyone gets some form of home program! I tend to give my sporting clients more exercises vs. pet clients.

• I always give enrichment advice too, so things like bringing the outside in (soil/stones/grass etc) for an immobile dog, simple scent-work for mobility but more so for cognitive support and enrichment especially for dogs with Canine Cognitive Dementia.

• We have our team members demonstrate how to do the exercises, stretches, etc. while they're in the facility, and we send them their homework through Physiotec. We are currently subscribed to yours (FourLegExercise.com) and Sasha Foster's, and our clients love it! Thank you for helping to make our lives easier!

• Home exercise is the foundation of my treatment plan. I live in a rural area and can’t always see clients too often.

• I usually start with 3 very basic exercises- perturbation, single leg lifts and standing on with front feet on a small step. Most clients are pet dogs. Also advice re general care - have just made advice booklet to give out including flooring, ball throwing, nail care, weight control.

• I make sure it is an exercise the dog can do consistently well enough to be easy for owner to do and understand while of course still being beneficial to the dog.

• I can't justify the cost yet of software, so send by email the written instructions with photos. I have a word document I use as a master and then cut and paste from there. I have done survey to ask for feedback and they all appreciate this. It can be time consuming but I think it is so important to follow up with something tangible. Owners can feel so overwhelmed at times, so having something to refer back to is useful ...  and helps with relationship building etc.

• Owners need to demo the exercises before they leave!

• Despite an online exercise platform with educational videos of exercises that include a lot of dog training skills, reward placement and positioning of the handler. Owners still get it very wrong! I can spend way over session time training the owner to train the dog to do the exercises properly and effectively. I don't see the point in giving out exercises unless they can do it perfectly to ensure correct muscle recruitment and that other areas of the body are not being used. Unfortunately for me there is a fall out in my sessions being up to 2 hours long but still charging the same price. It’s not great business. But I sleep better at night knowing that when they are home the dog and owner are carrying out the exercises perfectly and then we can reach our rehab goals quicker!

• Thanks for all you do Laurie, very appreciated!

Well, there you go!  Great information!  Thank you to those that completed the survey!

Keep on doing great stuff this week!

Cheers!  Laurie