Canine & Feline Rehabilitation

Pets suffering from orthopedic issues often have pain, loss of muscle mass, and decreased mobility. Our orthopedic rehabilitation program aims at treating muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints by combining therapeutic exercise with treatment modalities such as laser, electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, and acupuncture, to increase strength, flexibility, and comfort of the patient.

Common orthopedic conditions we treat:

Common orthopedic conditions treated and managed at IndyVet rehabilitation include hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate rupture (CCL injury), patella luxation, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), legg-calve-perthes disease, biciptal tenosynovitis, elbow dysplasia, fragmented medial coronoid process (FCP), ununited anconeal process (UAP), elbow incongruity, carpal hyperextension, angular limb deformities, medial shoulder instability, joint luxations, muscle contractures, muscle strains, fractures, and ligament or tendon injuries.

Injuries or disorders of the nervous system often result in weakness, loss of muscle mass, loss of balance, gait abnormalities, and pain. Through rehabilitation, we focus on strengthening, gait retraining, and increasing comfort levels so that our patients can regain function. We also provide aid with assistive devices such as carts and harnesses to help increase the patient’s mobility when needed.

Common neurologic conditions we treat:

Common neurologic conditions treated at IndyVet rehabilitation include intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), cervical disc disease, thoracolumbar disc disease, degenerative myelopathy, degenerative lumbosacral stenosis, wobbler syndrome (cervical spondylomyelopathy), fibrocartilaginous embolic myelopathy (FCE), neoplasia, traumatic injuries, discospondylitis, and atlantoaxial luxation.

As pets age, they become prone to slowing down due to decreased mobility, weight gain, and joint discomfort from arthritic changes. The combination of these conditions often affect your pet’s well-being and decreases their independence. Our geriatric and osteoarthritis rehabilitation program focuses on increasing the patient’s mobility, strength, and comfort so that they maintain an active, high quality lifestyle.

Obesity is a common problem in pet populations. Pets that do not maintain an ideal body condition often suffer from joint pain, decreased mobility, carry an increased risk of injury, and have a decreased life span.  Our weight loss program focusses on sessions in our underwater treadmill, land exercises, and nutritional recommendations. We also provide clients with an at-home program to ensure success during their pet’s weight loss journey.

Pets participating in agility, lure coursing, field trials, flyball, or other sporting events require special fitness training to keep them at optimal performance levels.Our athletic conditioning program targets increasing and maintaining the athletic pet’s fitness level. Through a combination of sessions in our underwater treadmill combined with land exercises, we can improve muscular and cardiorespiratory strength and endurance. IndyVet Rehabilitation can also provide non-pharmaceutical treatments to relieve muscle and joint discomfort that are commonly seen in athletic patients.

Common athletic conditions we treat:

Common athletic conditions managed at IndyVet rehabilitation include muscle strains, bicipital tenosynovitis, muscle contractures, tendinopathy, medial shoulder instability, iliopsoas strains, fragmented medial coronoid process (FCP), ligament and tendon injuries.  Athletic injuries are particularly amenable to rapid improvement with rehabilitative therapy and regenerative medicine. 

If you live in an area that would require a long commute to IndyVet or have a schedule that doesn’t allow for regular in-clinic sessions, our home exercise program is a great option in lieu of in clinic sessions.  After an initial in-clinic consult, we will provide you with a tailored treatment plan that includes videos and directions for exercises you can perform at home. As your pet improves, we will work closely with you to update the program so that your pet achieves their highest level of success.  While home exercises will not achieve an equivalent level of success as can be achieved with an in-clinic program, it is nevertheless a good option in those circumstances where in-clinic sessions are not possible.

Therapeutic laser is a form of light therapy that enhances cellular functions to promote healing. This form of therapy reduces inflammation, assists with pain, and accelerates tissue, wound, and nerve repair.

Therapeutic ultrasound uses sound waves to create deep tissue heating. This allows for increased stretching of tissues resulting in improved movement of joints and muscles. Therapeutic ultrasound also decreases pain and muscle spasms, and promotes wound and fracture healing.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) uses a current to stimulate muscle contraction. Electrically stimulated muscle contraction increases muscular strength and endurance, provides muscle re-education following injury, decreases muscle atrophy from disuse of a limb, and improves joint mobility.  Electrical stimulation of muscle can decrease muscle atrophy and weakness 20% faster than with exercise alone.

A different type of electrical stimulation (ESTIM) has the advantages of reducing swelling, accelerating wound healing, and improving pain to injured tissue.

The use of an underwater treadmill allows pets with balance issues, pain, or muscle weakness, to exercise more comfortably due to the buoyancy of the water. The support of the water is helpful for patients recovering from a recent surgery or injury and for neurologic patients that need gait retraining.

During underwater treadmill therapy, the resistance of the water enhances the patient’s range of motion, muscular strength and endurance, and cardiorespiratory endurance. The warm water also provides warming of injured tissues that is very therapeutic and promotes healing.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEFT) is one of the newest technologies to come to veterinary medicine. PEFT uses targeted electromagnetic pulses to enhance cellular pathways involved in decreasing inflammation, and in accelerating the rate of tissue healing.

This therapy is a safe and effective approach to pain management and is a great alternative or complement to pharmaceutical therapies aimed at the reduction of inflammation and pain. A benefit of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy is that it can be easily used at home.

Therapeutic exercise is a combination of strengthening, balance, and awareness exercises, combined with range of motion and stretching. It is used to improve a patient’s muscular strength, core strength, endurance, flexibility, mobility, speed, limb placement, and balance. It achieves these outcomes by increasing muscle mass, providing more comfortable movement, and improving performance.

A normal stance in dogs and cats will show the front limbs bearing 60% of the pet’s weight and the rear limbs bear the remaining 40%. These numbers should be evenly distributed between the left and right limbs. In a pet experiencing a visible lameness, pain, or structural abnormality, these numbers are altered. Using a computerized system, we evaluate these parameters to locate the origin of the lameness and objectively determine the degree of impairment.  This is useful in creating tailored treatment plans and in objectively tracking your pet’s progress during treatment.

Does your dog slip or slide on hard surfaces? Dogs use their nails as traction to prevent slipping and sliding during ambulation.  When dogs walk on a hard surface, the normal toenail provides poor traction.  ToeGrips are a non-slip toenail application that provides traction and confidence to senior or arthritic canine patients discovering new mobility and strength with rehabilitation. ToeGrips also reduce the risk of injury due to slips and falls. ToeGrips  can be worn continuously for 1-3 months and are suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Contact us about applying ToeGrips on your pet nails to get their quality of life back!

ToeGrips are great for:

• Osteoarthritis
• Senior pets
• Hip dysplasia
• Cruciate ligament injuries
• Hind end weakness
• Vision loss
• Muscle strains
• IVDD
• Post-surgical patients at risk of falling
• Assistive devices/wheelchairs

IndyVet rehabilitation works closely with pet owners to help make the best decisions regarding assistive devices. We work within the client’s budget to obtain the right cart, harness, or orthotic for the patient.  IndyVet rehabilitation works with OrthoPets, Help ‘Em Up, Walkin’ Wheels, Eddie’s Wheels, K9 Carts, Doggon’ Wheels, and many more assistive device vendors!  We are committed to fitting assistive devices to assure that patients are remain comfortable with the device.  Adjusting to a wheelchair or other assistive device can take time, but IndyVet rehabilitation is dedicated to making that transition as smooth as possible.

The Assisi Loop is a portable, FDA approved, Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Inflammatory Device (NPAID). This device is a safe pain management technology that can be used alone or in conjunction with the pet’s current treatment plan. This loop offers pet owners the ability to provide pain relief and healing for their pet at home. The Assisi Loop uses a targeted pulsed electromagnetic field (tPEMF) to cause increased tissue nitric oxide levels which is associated with decreased healing time. This technology has been shown to reduce pain, decrease inflammation, and accelerate the healing of damaged tissues, and can penetrate through bandages, casts, and fur. Each treatment lasts 15 minutes and the loop automatically shuts off when the treatment time is completed. Each device offers a minimum of 150 treatments and is easy to use at home. The Assisi Loop is a great option when NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) cannot be used (such as patients with kidney or liver disease), and there are no contraindications for the treatment of patients with cancer.

The Assisi Loop is great for:

• Pain management
• Inflammation
• Wound care
• Osteoarthritis
• Post-surgical healing
• Degenerative (neurologic) disorders
• Orthopedic injuries

Pets suffering from orthopedic issues often have pain, loss of muscle mass, and decreased mobility. Our orthopedic rehabilitation program aims at treating muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints by combining therapeutic exercise with treatment modalities such as laser, electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, and acupuncture, to increase strength, flexibility, and comfort of the patient.

Common orthopedic conditions we treat:

Common orthopedic conditions treated and managed at IndyVet rehabilitation include hip dysplasia, cranial cruciate rupture (CCL injury), patella luxation, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), legg-calve-perthes disease, biciptal tenosynovitis, elbow dysplasia, fragmented medial coronoid process (FCP), ununited anconeal process (UAP), elbow incongruity, carpal hyperextension, angular limb deformities, medial shoulder instability, joint luxations, muscle contractures, muscle strains, fractures, and ligament or tendon injuries.

Injuries or disorders of the nervous system often result in weakness, loss of muscle mass, loss of balance, gait abnormalities, and pain. Through rehabilitation, we focus on strengthening, gait retraining, and increasing comfort levels so that our patients can regain function. We also provide aid with assistive devices such as carts and harnesses to help increase the patient’s mobility when needed.

Common neurologic conditions we treat:

Common neurologic conditions treated at IndyVet rehabilitation include intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), cervical disc disease, thoracolumbar disc disease, degenerative myelopathy, degenerative lumbosacral stenosis, wobbler syndrome (cervical spondylomyelopathy), fibrocartilaginous embolic myelopathy (FCE), neoplasia, traumatic injuries, discospondylitis, and atlantoaxial luxation.

As pets age, they become prone to slowing down due to decreased mobility, weight gain, and joint discomfort from arthritic changes. The combination of these conditions often affect your pet’s well-being and decreases their independence. Our geriatric and osteoarthritis rehabilitation program focuses on increasing the patient’s mobility, strength, and comfort so that they maintain an active, high quality lifestyle.

Obesity is a common problem in pet populations. Pets that do not maintain an ideal body condition often suffer from joint pain, decreased mobility, carry an increased risk of injury, and have a decreased life span.  Our weight loss program focusses on sessions in our underwater treadmill, land exercises, and nutritional recommendations. We also provide clients with an at-home program to ensure success during their pet’s weight loss journey.

Pets participating in agility, lure coursing, field trials, flyball, or other sporting events require special fitness training to keep them at optimal performance levels.Our athletic conditioning program targets increasing and maintaining the athletic pet’s fitness level. Through a combination of sessions in our underwater treadmill combined with land exercises, we can improve muscular and cardiorespiratory strength and endurance. IndyVet Rehabilitation can also provide non-pharmaceutical treatments to relieve muscle and joint discomfort that are commonly seen in athletic patients.

Common athletic conditions we treat:

Common athletic conditions managed at IndyVet rehabilitation include muscle strains, bicipital tenosynovitis, muscle contractures, tendinopathy, medial shoulder instability, iliopsoas strains, fragmented medial coronoid process (FCP), ligament and tendon injuries.  Athletic injuries are particularly amenable to rapid improvement with rehabilitative therapy and regenerative medicine. 

If you live in an area that would require a long commute to IndyVet or have a schedule that doesn’t allow for regular in-clinic sessions, our home exercise program is a great option in lieu of in clinic sessions.  After an initial in-clinic consult, we will provide you with a tailored treatment plan that includes videos and directions for exercises you can perform at home. As your pet improves, we will work closely with you to update the program so that your pet achieves their highest level of success.  While home exercises will not achieve an equivalent level of success as can be achieved with an in-clinic program, it is nevertheless a good option in those circumstances where in-clinic sessions are not possible.

Therapeutic laser is a form of light therapy that enhances cellular functions to promote healing. This form of therapy reduces inflammation, assists with pain, and accelerates tissue, wound, and nerve repair.

Therapeutic ultrasound uses sound waves to create deep tissue heating. This allows for increased stretching of tissues resulting in improved movement of joints and muscles. Therapeutic ultrasound also decreases pain and muscle spasms, and promotes wound and fracture healing.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) uses a current to stimulate muscle contraction. Electrically stimulated muscle contraction increases muscular strength and endurance, provides muscle re-education following injury, decreases muscle atrophy from disuse of a limb, and improves joint mobility.  Electrical stimulation of muscle can decrease muscle atrophy and weakness 20% faster than with exercise alone.

A different type of electrical stimulation (ESTIM) has the advantages of reducing swelling, accelerating wound healing, and improving pain to injured tissue.

The use of an underwater treadmill allows pets with balance issues, pain, or muscle weakness, to exercise more comfortably due to the buoyancy of the water. The support of the water is helpful for patients recovering from a recent surgery or injury and for neurologic patients that need gait retraining.

During underwater treadmill therapy, the resistance of the water enhances the patient’s range of motion, muscular strength and endurance, and cardiorespiratory endurance. The warm water also provides warming of injured tissues that is very therapeutic and promotes healing.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEFT) is one of the newest technologies to come to veterinary medicine. PEFT uses targeted electromagnetic pulses to enhance cellular pathways involved in decreasing inflammation, and in accelerating the rate of tissue healing.

This therapy is a safe and effective approach to pain management and is a great alternative or complement to pharmaceutical therapies aimed at the reduction of inflammation and pain. A benefit of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy is that it can be easily used at home.

Therapeutic exercise is a combination of strengthening, balance, and awareness exercises, combined with range of motion and stretching. It is used to improve a patient’s muscular strength, core strength, endurance, flexibility, mobility, speed, limb placement, and balance. It achieves these outcomes by increasing muscle mass, providing more comfortable movement, and improving performance.

A normal stance in dogs and cats will show the front limbs bearing 60% of the pet’s weight and the rear limbs bear the remaining 40%. These numbers should be evenly distributed between the left and right limbs. In a pet experiencing a visible lameness, pain, or structural abnormality, these numbers are altered. Using a computerized system, we evaluate these parameters to locate the origin of the lameness and objectively determine the degree of impairment.  This is useful in creating tailored treatment plans and in objectively tracking your pet’s progress during treatment.

Does your dog slip or slide on hard surfaces? Dogs use their nails as traction to prevent slipping and sliding during ambulation.  When dogs walk on a hard surface, the normal toenail provides poor traction.  ToeGrips are a non-slip toenail application that provides traction and confidence to senior or arthritic canine patients discovering new mobility and strength with rehabilitation. ToeGrips also reduce the risk of injury due to slips and falls. ToeGrips  can be worn continuously for 1-3 months and are suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Contact us about applying ToeGrips on your pet nails to get their quality of life back!

ToeGrips are great for:

• Osteoarthritis
• Senior pets
• Hip dysplasia
• Cruciate ligament injuries
• Hind end weakness
• Vision loss
• Muscle strains
• IVDD
• Post-surgical patients at risk of falling
• Assistive devices/wheelchairs

IndyVet rehabilitation works closely with pet owners to help make the best decisions regarding assistive devices. We work within the client’s budget to obtain the right cart, harness, or orthotic for the patient.  IndyVet rehabilitation works with OrthoPets, Help ‘Em Up, Walkin’ Wheels, Eddie’s Wheels, K9 Carts, Doggon’ Wheels, and many more assistive device vendors!  We are committed to fitting assistive devices to assure that patients are remain comfortable with the device.  Adjusting to a wheelchair or other assistive device can take time, but IndyVet rehabilitation is dedicated to making that transition as smooth as possible.

The Assisi Loop is a portable, FDA approved, Non-Pharmaceutical Anti-Inflammatory Device (NPAID). This device is a safe pain management technology that can be used alone or in conjunction with the pet’s current treatment plan. This loop offers pet owners the ability to provide pain relief and healing for their pet at home. The Assisi Loop uses a targeted pulsed electromagnetic field (tPEMF) to cause increased tissue nitric oxide levels which is associated with decreased healing time. This technology has been shown to reduce pain, decrease inflammation, and accelerate the healing of damaged tissues, and can penetrate through bandages, casts, and fur. Each treatment lasts 15 minutes and the loop automatically shuts off when the treatment time is completed. Each device offers a minimum of 150 treatments and is easy to use at home. The Assisi Loop is a great option when NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) cannot be used (such as patients with kidney or liver disease), and there are no contraindications for the treatment of patients with cancer.

The Assisi Loop is great for:

• Pain management
• Inflammation
• Wound care
• Osteoarthritis
• Post-surgical healing
• Degenerative (neurologic) disorders
• Orthopedic injuries