![]() At correct full extension, the front leg will appear as if the pet is in full stride with that leg (pointing straight ahead). Extend the leg this way until you meet mild resistance. Push the left front leg forward gently with your left hand while holding back the shoulder in one place with your right hand. Cup the left elbow in the palm of your left hand. Shoulder flexion/extension: Lay your right hand over the left shoulder, with the pointed part of the shoulder in the palm of your right hand.With your pet lying down on his/her right side, kneel or sit between the forelimbs and hindlimbs (beside the belly, between front and back legs) facing forward, in the same direction as the pet is facing.The left leg is used as an example here, with the pet lying on his or her right side, and the same process, reversing all left and right, can be used for the right leg when your pet is lying left-side down. ![]() The goal will be to gently flex and extend the front leg that is on top (not the one against the ground).Forelimb exercises focus on movement at the shoulder joint and elbow. The elbow is slightly farther down the forelimb and is the part of the forelimb that points the farthest backward. The shoulder can be felt as a bump on the front of the animal, to the outside surface of the chest and base of the neck. Like us, dogs and cats have shoulders and elbows. ![]() If you are having difficulty with the exercises, be sure to contact your veterinarian to decide how to proceed. Some pets learn to object in order to get more attention, whereas others are in real pain. ![]() If there are signs of pain or resentment, stop and allow your pet to rest for several seconds before trying again. If severe pain is present, do not attempt these exercises, and contact a veterinarian to discuss alternatives as well as pain control.Įach exercise usually is performed 15-20 times each session. Be sure that your pet is comfortable enough to start. Range-of-motion exercises usually are started within 1-3 days of injury/surgery: soon enough to start to help, but after severe swelling has had a chance to stabilize and start to resolve, and healing has started. With practice (and the patient’s flexibility), 5-10 seconds should eventually be typical for each exercise, keeping in mind that the end of each motion is slower when resistance is met, watching for signs of discomfort (raising the head, shaking the leg away, or vocalizing). One full extension or one full flexion of any joint in any leg will likely take from 10 to 30 seconds the first time. Going slow, especially at first, is important. Your veterinarian can make this determination. Some disorders (e.g., polymyositis) can require very frequent and very gentle exercises for many weeks, whereas others (e.g., fracture with complete surgical correction) only require a brief course of exercises. Overall duration can be a few days or several weeks, depending on the extent of the original surgery/injury. Usually the exercises should take between 5 and 10 minutes to do each time, and in most cases it is recommended to do them 3 times a day (about every 6-10 hours). For pets with thin or fragile skin, a large foam cushion or foam rubber sheet can be helpful as padding. A rubberized, padded mat that is at least twice as long and twice as wide as the length of the pet can also work well. Carpeted areas are well suited so long as they can be kept clean. There should be traction for exercises requiring a pet to stand. It is best to choose a place in the home where a pet can stand or lie down on his/her side comfortably. These are range-of-motion exercises and are appropriate for both cats and dogs. While some veterinary facilities can offer some forms of physical rehabilitation, such as walking on an underwater treadmill, the hands-on approach of gently and repetitively moving a pet’s limbs through their normal movements can be done at home. It is an opportunity for you to help speed the recovery in a hands-on way with your pet. Doing very gentle, full range flexion and extension of the limbs several times daily is a form of physical rehabilitation that can keep the muscles limber and the joints flexible. Recovery from muscular, bony, or joint injury or surgery in animals often includes a gradual return to movement, just as it does in people.
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