Little River Animal Therapy LLC

11/11/2024

🇺🇸 Happy Veterans Day! 🇺🇸

Thank you to all the true heroes who have served so valiantly and fought for our country's freedom.

10/28/2024

Rica Update!

After she got her staples out and was out of the surgery woods, using her leg all by herself, and was just overall doing a lot better. I did something I don't see a lot of people do. I let her body be. I did not do massage, red light therapy, PEMF, or any exercises for her leg. I let her body just continue to heal itself, by itself.
Sometimes, I feel like we do all these things for so long that we forget that there comes a point: we need to just let the body rest and heal all by itself.
After a week of letting her be, I started the exercises, walking her, red light therapy, PEMF, and massage again. I finally touched her scar itself and rolled the myofascial tissue until I felt like it loosened, and now it's all building her muscle in her leg so it doesn't look any different from the other. Overall, she's doing amazing!

10/07/2024

Yesterday we drove back up to Sun Valley to see Dr. Tobias and get Rica's staples out. When we spoke with him after getting her staples out he said she is almost doing too well. We asked and he let us know normally they don't start using their leg like Rica is until later on in the healing process and seemed very impressed with her. I also included a photo of all the staples the night before.

Goes to show that diet (she's been getting tripe to help with her healing), holistic modalities like massage, red light therapy, and PEMF all really do work TOGETHER with veterinary care/surgical care to bring about the best possible outcome.

Rica's will to live her best life and how tough she is plays a HUGE role in this process as well. She really tries hard and wants to use her leg so she can run and play and do all the things!

10/06/2024

Week 2 of Rica's recovery brought lots of laughs and by the end of the week she was so restless with her kennel rest we were looking forward to getting her staples out.

Everything with week 1 went according to plan, she started really using her leg every time we would take her out and even stopped limping for a few strides each time. Now week 2 started and I started adding in weight-shifting exercises into our routine and some more light massage as well to help with the muscle cramping as she heals.

The weight shifting exercises are VERY simple and just encourage her to put weight on the leg. The video of her standing and moving her head around is all we did until about Wednesday. I also set up those poles so she re-learned how to use both legs to walk instead of both together or just packing her leg around.

We also started "doggy squats" to help build the muscle up on Tuesday and this will also continue. It's just her sitting and then standing but she cannot move forward to stand so she uses her leg muscles more and starts building that back up.

10/05/2024

I've been bad about posting Rica's updates, so today I'll do two posts, and tomorrow, do another to catch up. It's been 2 weeks to the day of her FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) surgery and Rica is doing amazing! Week 1 was strict kennel rest, red light therapy 4 times that week, PEMF every day, and passive range of motion every day since the day after her surgery.

I started the PEMF and passive range of motion the day after surgery because we want the scar tissue to be as pliable as possible so she can use the leg as normally as possible and have the full range of motion in her leg. Keep in mind, this first weeks passive range of motion was EXTREMELY light in nature and if Rica said no to a move then I respected that and stopped.

Here's some pictures of the first week!! She also started trying to use her leg the second day after surgery as well so we could tell she felt MUCH better vs before surgery.

09/23/2024

Big update on Rica! Forewarning, this is long!
So we took her to our vet in town and with the x-rays we took we could see the head of her femur was very damaged, so much so the vet suggested we take her entire leg off because she also felt her knee was done for. This situation I will write a whole different post on why it is important to get a second opinion. My chiropractor and several other people and vets I know suggested a vet in Sun Valley ID for a second opinion.

When I called them they gave me their email, requested I sent the x-rays and her story to them and that they would forward it to this doctor to see what he thought. 15-20 minutes after the email was sent, he calls and says he wants to see her and for him taking her leg off isn't an option. We booked her consultation for yesterday Sept. 21st for 11 am. They called my husband and said there was an emergency surgery that came up and were wondering if we could move Rica to a 9am instead, we agreed of course because you can't do anything about an emergency, they happen.

Sun Valley if 3 hours away from where we live so my husband and I woke up at 4am yesterday, drove to Sun Valley ID for her 9am appointment, and finally got to meet the doctor we had heard only good things about. We were surprised when they took Rica back on her own and then the doctor came out and he took his time, talked to us about options and what he saw when he examined Rica, we spoke with him for a half hour. At the end he asks us, alright what would you like to do today? I'm ready to do this FHO (Femoral Head Ostectomy) today. We were surprised and asked what about his emergency surgery, which must take priority. Come to find out, Rica was his emergency surgery and he moved patients and cleared the entire schedule for him and it looked like for the office just for her, she was the only patient that day.

We got to pick her up this morning at 11am and now she is recovering and it went better than we could have hoped. It was so much worse than he thought, the femoral head had broken off and was grinding bone on bone and the destruction was just crazy. We are sending the bone out for biopsy to make sure there's no cancer, but we think it's just from 8 months of no blood flow and the necrosis just set in.

09/09/2024

Rica's first PEMF, acupressure, and Passive Range of Motion treatment today went awesome, she loved it! You can definitely see the different in muscle on each side, but once she gets some xrays and we see how badly she hurt herself then we can start doing something about that.

09/08/2024

Welcome to the family Rica, we've got a long ways to go for your rehab. Follow her progress on here! I'm going to do weekly updates on her 😊

06/29/2024

Come by and see our booth today!

06/29/2024

Gumby over here, and she wonders why she has back problems 😂

06/28/2024

Join us today at Branded Bonanza! Got the table all set up and ready to go!

06/10/2024

I'll be at branded bonanza June 28th-30th, come by and see my little table! 😊

𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧

We're so happy with the variety of vendors that are joining us at Branded Bonanza Idaho this year! Be sure to check out to learn more about the physical therapy modalities available for your horses, burros and pets!

01/29/2024

Harley enjoying her PEMF treatment, and Ash being there for moral support

01/19/2024

This is part four and the last part of the CCL journey we have been on, I'm also going to take this opportunity to give an update on my dog Ember who was diagnosed with a CCL injury.

She is at the end of week 5 since she injured herself and we just saw the orthopedic surgeon who does about 3 surgeries for these injuries a week on dogs from police K9's to agility dogs. She did a complete exam on Ember and I told her all of the details of the rehab schedule I made up for her, what supplements she has been on since the injury, and how her body reacted to the rehab throughout each stage and asked her opinion on all of it as a veterinary professional but also as a surgeon who sees a lot of these cases. She said everything that was done was great, a good job was done to immediately take care of the injury as soon as it happened and then to go further than most people would and make sure no muscle loss happened. Even better is that the muscles around her knee had been strengthened so much it actually is giving a lot of stability to the knee, so much so that the only way she could tell Ember hurt herself was that her Iliopsoas on her unhurt side was a little sore, which indicated she had favored it at one point. She said surgery isn't necessary because it wouldn't help any more than what I have already done. Ember has one more month of rehab, adding more walking on different surfaces and going up inclines, and then she can return to normal activity. It will just be important to keep an eye on her throughout her life to make sure the lameness doesn't come back and become chronic. We also talked about the surgery option if that did happen, but she doesn't think it would be an issue for her in the future.

So, How is a CCL sprain or rupture diagnosed?

This is something diagnosed by a veterinarian. A veterinarian will initially watch how your dog walks around the exam room. Some dogs will hide their lameness due to the stress of being at the vet.
Another thing they may do is watch how they sit. If they sit in a "lazy" manner, i.e. one leg out to the side, that could be a sign of a CCL injury.
Next they will most likely palpate your dog, including the stifle of concern and compare it with the other one. One of the earliest signs of a CCL sprain is discomfort in the stifle.
Other signs of CCL sprain are muscle atrophy, swelling inside the stifle joint, known as joint effusion, and firm swelling surrounding the stifle, known as a medial buttress.
The most common test your vet will do is checking for a "cranial drawer" or "cranial thrust", this is the hallmark of a CCL injury or instability. In order to feel this, your dog may be placed on his/ her side or remain in a standing position, and your veterinarian will feel the stifle for abnormal motion. If either of these tests is positive, they will make a diagnosis of a CCL tear/rupture (either a Grade 2 or 3 sprain).

Are these tests painful?

These tests aren't painful, but the dog may be too tense to thoroughly test so your vet may recommend a sedative to complete the exam. Patients with chronic ruptures associated with a large amount of scar tissue and arthritis may not exhibit cranial drawer.

My dog has a diagnosis, now what?

Your vet will most likely prescribe anti-inflammatory pain medication to try and get the swelling down and manage pain. Once pain and lameness have been addressed rehabilitation should be implemented.

Keep in mind, for full ruptures surgery is the likely course your vet may want to take depending on your particular situation. Arthritis is very likely with these injuries whether immediate or over time and surgery helps to curb some of that and possibly slow it down.

It is extremely important that while undergoing knee rehabilitation, controlled movement and specific strengthening exercises or further damage (damage to the meniscus) can occur. Which is why it is important to get in touch with professionals and not to try and rehabilitate on your own.

What kinds of therapy can and should be done?

Water therapy is a big staple because it helps build strength and muscle mass while minimizing discomfort. On an underwater treadmill your dog can exercise and practice a normal posture without putting too much weight on damaged joints. Water also provides resistance during movement, which helps strengthen muscles.

Sports Massage therapy on sore, overworked muscles is key as well. The side that is not injured will be extremely overworked and tight leading to a higher chance of injury to the other CCL. There is a 60 percent chance of dogs injuring the other CCL once one has been injured. The hope is to help this statistic by working to ease the overcompensation in the body.

Myofascial Release therapy on the fascial tissue will help the body to heal and communicate better. Especially around the injured joint.

Pulse Electro Magnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) and Acupuncture, to help at the cellular and pressure point level to help relieve joint and muscle pain from physical therapy.

Chiropractic Care and Joint Mobilization can improve your dog's postural imbalances and may help reduce compensatory stress on the other knee, which also pairs well with massage and myofascial treatments.

Passive Range of Motion can help keep the injured legs mobility and assist with muscle atrophy as long as it is done carefully

It is important to note that even with intense physical therapy on a partial rupture, there are cases where a complete rupture may still occur and require surgery. Every dogs situation is different, so the challenge is finding the best course of treatment for your dog specifically. As with anything you should always speak with your veterinarian for help in what to start with.



https://www.avma.org/.../studies-analyze-factors-outcomes...

https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239...

https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2023-08-21-cranial.../

https://ucah.ca/cranial-cruciate-ligament-ccl/

https://caninearthritis.org/article/ccl-ruptures-tears/

https://www.mcrehabilitation.com/.../condition-breakdown...

https://the-balanced-dog.com/.../dog-acl-surgery-home.../

01/15/2024

This is part three of the cruciate ligament research. Now let's look a little further into the grades and signs of a CCL Rupture/Tear:

There are three grades of a CCL rupture:

Grade 1 - Stretching of the ligament without tearing; the ligament is unable to function properly and will be painful
Grade 2 - Partial tearing or rupture of the ligament; this leads to mild instability of the joint
Grade 3 - Complete rupture of the ligament with more significant instability of the joint

The signs of an injury are mostly going to depend on what degree the rupture/tear is. No matter what degree of sprain has occurred, there will be inflammation in the stifle joint and likely some degree of pain, which means there are overlapping signs between the grades.

Here are some overlapping signs/symptoms overall:
• Lameness or limping in the hind end.
• Difficulty with transfers (i.e. sit/down).
• Toe touching – does not bear weight properly on the affected leg but will just touch the toes to the ground.
• Pain in the knee region.
• Sloppy sitting posture (i.e. one leg splayed out).
• Decreased hind limb circumference – muscle loss in one limb.
• Stifle swelling.
• Gait (observe in walking/trotting/circles). Dogs will tend to lean away from the affected limb. Sometimes, lameness is only seen in the faster trotting gait versus a slower walk.

There is also more common scenarios that can occur with a CCL injury.
• Acute Rupture (usually Grade 3)
• Chronic Rupture (Grade 2 or 3
• Partial Tears (Grade 1 or 2)

Acute Rupture:
An acute rupture is when the ligament sustains severe tearing all at once. This is the least common type of CCL injury.

Once an acute rupture happens the dog will not want to bear weight on the affected hind leg. The lameness will likely improve over the following several weeks, but if it suddenly gets worse than most likely the medial meniscus has been damaged. That is the point where the dog will not return to normal function without some evidence of lameness.

Chronic Rupture:
A chronic CCLR there may not be a remembered main event that triggered the lameness. You will notice waxing and waning limping/lameness over weeks to months.

Over time, the body attempts to stabilize the knee with scar tissue. This will look like a swollen knee and you may notice the limbs range of motion may suffer. Arthritis will develop over time in the joint due to the chronic instability.

Most oftentimes, dogs can still bear weight on the affected limb but lameness will get worse with activity.

Partial CCL Rupture:
Partial CCLRs are less obvious but they are the most common types of injuries.

The dog may appear lame with exercise but improves with rest. However, over time the joint will increasingly weaken and become more unstable. Eventually, the ligament will most likely rupture fully and lameness will not go away with rest.



https://www.avma.org/news/studies-analyze-factors-outcomes-associated-cranial-cruciate-ligament-rupture-surgery?ref=barkandwhiskers.com

https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952244

https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2023-08-21-cranial-cruciate-ligaments/

https://ucah.ca/cranial-cruciate-ligament-ccl/

https://caninearthritis.org/article/ccl-ruptures-tears/

https://www.mcrehabilitation.com/blog/condition-breakdown-cranial-cruciate-ligament-injuries

https://the-balanced-dog.com/2019/10/13/dog-acl-surgery-home-exercises/

Picture from this article:
https://dogpainrelief.com/what-is-ccl-surgery/

01/08/2024

This is Ember, while this simple move might seem insignificant, it's huge for her.
She is what started/inspired my CCL research, a little over a week ago she was diagnosed with either a partial rupture or a full ruptured CCL; we weren't 100 percent sure which. When she was diagnosed I was told we should save our pennies because more than likely she would need surgery, but that the recovery for surgery was good so we were still confident she would still have a high quality of life. Of course, the hope we had for her was a recovery without surgery but the chance for a full recovery without surgery was very low.
It's been 3 weeks since she hurt herself, I wish I had a video of this exercise even a week ago. I was so concerned about helping her get better I didn't think to document it. I've been rehabbing her myself using my knowledge as a massage therapist, myofascial technician and the independent research I have done on what is done once the dog has surgery. Basically, I've treated her as if she already had the surgery and was in recovery for that, only doing what she told me she could handle so as not to make things worse.
A week ago she could only pick up her front legs and had a limp which would cause her to sometimes just keep her injured leg lifted. She could barely shift her weight to her injured leg with all four paws on the ground because it was too painful for her.
Today, she can pick her leg up and keep weight on her injured leg for a short time. If you watch her back leg it's still a struggle for her, but it's a struggle she can handle.
From here, I hope to document more since she's doing so well but it still would have been great to be able to show where she came from before this point. She still has a long way to go but today marks a turning point in her recovery.
As we go through the rest of the research as I post it, I may post videos of her progress alongside, but thought it would be a fun idea to show everyone who really inspired this research.

01/06/2024

This is part two of looking at the Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL). This one is a little shorter, but still very important because we're going to look at HOW our furry friends partially tear or fully rupture their CCL

How does it rupture?

If we compare this injury to humans, the typical way humans sprain their ACL is the result of a serious injury, often related to sports like football. In the case of dogs, however, injury is very rarely the case for a CCL Rupture.

Normally dogs experience CCL "disease" instead of rupture. This means normally the ligament breaks down or weakens over time due to conformational, genetic, and/or immune-mediated processes within the joint itself.

However, there are many ways for this damage to happen. Let's take a look at the other causes for a CCL sprain or rupture. We'll go further into what an acute, chronic rupture, or partial tear is later.

Sudden directional changes at speed:
When dogs make a turn a vast majority of their weight is onto the stifle and excessive rotational or shearing forces are put on the cruciate ligaments. This could easily look like a dog running in a field, suddenly seeing a rabbit, and changing directions. Putting most of their weight on one leg and rupturing the cruciate ligament.

Weekend Warrior Syndrome:
This looks like a dog who largely sits around at home, does not do very much. Then is taken on a 3 hour or 6 hour hike in the mountains and is not conditioned to the activity. Placing too much strain on a limb and ligaments can result in a CCL injury.

Jumping:
When dogs take off and land a jump, they're putting increased stress on their joints and soft tissues. Increased strain without proper conditioning for the physical activity they are doing can result in an injury.

Hyperextension and Internal Rotation of the Knee: Hyperextension (knee bending the wrong way) the knee is forced to extend beyond its normal range of motion. The vast majority of CCL injuries in sporting dogs are a result of hyperextension of the knee joint.

https://www.avma.org/news/studies-analyze-factors-outcomes-associated-cranial-cruciate-ligament-rupture-surgery?ref=barkandwhiskers.com

https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952244

https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2023-08-21-cranial-cruciate-ligaments/

https://ucah.ca/cranial-cruciate-ligament-ccl/

https://caninearthritis.org/article/ccl-ruptures-tears/

https://www.mcrehabilitation.com/blog/condition-breakdown-cranial-cruciate-ligament-injuries

https://the-balanced-dog.com/2019/10/13/dog-acl-surgery-home-exercises/