Physiotherapy is a growing part of animal health care—allowing dogs and horses the chance to recover from injuries and prevent reoccurrence.

Providing quality veterinary care is frequently a collaborative affair, especially when it comes to congenital conditions and rehabilitation. Vets often work with specialists and allied health professionals such as veterinary dentists and physiotherapists.

Working in conjunction with other professionals can lead to quicker recovery times after surgery and more positive long-term health outcomes. It can even result in better preventative care.

Dr Ricky Jhauj is a physiotherapist with specialist training in canine and equine physiotherapy. Based in Melbourne, Dr Jhauj works with local veterinarians to assist them in helping animals recover from surgery, build muscle strength and prevent further injury.

He adores his profession, he says, which combines his passion for physiotherapy and his love for animals. However, it’s a profession he didn’t even know existed before he went to university.

“I had the opportunity to work in animal physiotherapy through my clinical placement at university and I just fell in love with the profession itself,” he explains. “I found my calling, I guess you could say.”

While equine physiotherapy has been commonly practised for many years, it has only really been in recent years that dogs have become a large patient group, says Dr Jhauj.

He has no doubt that awareness of canine physiotherapy has grown among both dog owners and vets. “Including a physiotherapist is just like having an allied health team in the human world. Everyone works together to make sure the patient has the best outcome.” 

Dr Jhauj says that even though dogs can be very stoic, they can often have compensated movements or imbalances after surgery, just like human beings, and need treatment to get them back into peak physical condition.

“I’m currently trying to develop an evidence-based canine arthritis management program for canines, just like the management we have for human beings, to help with mobility and quality of life,” he explains.

He further adds that most of his work is post-surgical, especially with breeds such as dachshunds, who are prone to intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) or dogs with hip dysplasia, tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), or patella surgeries. 

“As I say, animals are stoic, they’ll go back to a normal life after rehab, but there’s a big risk,” he warns. “Once a dog has torn one TPLO, their CCL for example, or cranial cruciate ligament, there is a 50 per cent chance the other one will go. So that’s where physio comes into play, to make sure that we reduce that risk.

“We also treat conditions like arthritis, and degenerative myelopathy, which is common in certain breeds such as German shepherds. While these conditions aren’t curable, there’s a great deal we can do to help. Our main goals are to slow the progression and, most importantly, to enhance the animal’s quality of life.”

I had the opportunity to work in animal physiotherapy through my clinical placement at university and I just fell in love with the profession itself. I found my calling, I guess you could say.

Dr Ricky Jhauj, animal physiotherapist

Dr Jhauj’s mobile clinical practice is tailored to helping provide care in the comfort of patients’ homes and environments, minimising travel for injured and debilitated pets. Dr Jhauj provides exercise treatment plans and equipment used to monitor a dog’s gait, or improve their muscular strength. It’s all part of the rehabilitation process.

Dr Deborah Clift of Elwood Vet runs two busy veterinary clinics in Melbourne and feels that physiotherapists have an important part to play in animal health. She says that she often refers dogs to Dr Jhauj after surgery as part of her post-operative care. 

“For animals that have had spinal surgery, such as after a disc prolapse, for example, or knee reconstruction, and rehab can get them going again,” she explains.

“It’s also useful for older animals where perhaps surgery isn’t necessarily an option because of comorbidities such as heart disease, where perhaps a general anaesthetic is contraindicated.” Dr Clift worked overseas for some years and says she got used to working with other allied health professionals there, before returning to Australia and increasing her collaboration with physiotherapists.

“Physiotherapy is becoming more widely accepted, and has become more widely utilised in recent years,” she says. 

“I recommend it to patients who I think would benefit from it and I guess I’m lucky in that the clients I see are relatively well off. Most of them have insurance for their pets and typically physio, depending on their policy, will be covered.”

Dr Clift says that the process of working with a physio is a collaborative one but still requires developing a suitable care plan using her veterinary training.

“We’ll send a patient to the physio with a full set of clinical notes. The physio then assesses the patient, works out a management plan, implements that management plan, and then sends us the reports. 

“We will keep a close eye on what’s happening throughout the treatment,” she adds.

“We work synergistically. The management plan from a veterinary point of view is enhanced by using physios and vice versa. There is a strength in the partnership. The two disciplines are separately not as good as the two combined.” 

Dr Jhauj couldn’t agree more, describing the work he does with veterinarians as “joyful” because it is so lovely to be around dogs (and occasionally horses) all day. 

“I think what I enjoy most about my profession is earning the trust of a dog or a horse,” he adds. “It’s such a privilege.”