Services Offered

Please click on any of the services we offer below to learn more:

*Treatment takes place at partner locations

Physical Rehabilitation

Therapeutic Exercises – Similar to physical therapy for humans, we develop a plan of therapeutic exercises for your pet to strengthen their muscles to support joints, improve balance, and regain mobility. Typically, exercises begin simply, graduating in complexity as your pet grows stronger. You will leave our office with an understanding of how to complete prescribed exercises at home.
Manual Therapy – Perhaps the most important element of rehabilitation, manual therapy encompasses hands-on techniques used to diagnose and treat ligament, tendon, joint, and muscle problems. Therapy includes joint mobilization, gentle stretching, massage, and more, to increase blood flow, range of motion and flexibility, and to decrease pain and inflammation.

Massage

Combined with manual therapies, massage promotes circulation to reduce pain, swelling, and muscle spasms, and has the added benefit of relaxing your pet.

Veterinary Medical Manipulation (VMM)

VMM is therapy that involves gentle manipulation to the spine and other joints and is similar to a human chiropractic adjustment. The health of cartilage, muscles and nerves is dependent upon normal motion. If a joint becomes restricted in its motion, it can affect the nerves in nearby areas. This interrupts nervous system messages to the rest of the body, leading to pain and loss of function. VMM alleviates restrictions, relieves discomfort, and improves mobility. It can be used to treat numerous conditions ranging from joint pain, back hind-end weakness and muscle injury/spasm to selected neurological deficits, post-operative care, and improved athletic performance.

Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture and Dry Needling

All three treatment modalities can be incredibly effective at pain management, mobility restoration, increased circulation, and relief of emotional distress.

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to stimulate and support body systems, including the nervous, immune, and GI systems, alongside its ability to reduce pain and inflammation, increase circulation, and more. Acupuncture uses a set of thin needles inserted at meridian points along the body to increase energy flow and to correct energy imbalances.
Electroacupuncture is a modification of general acupuncture treatment. It uses the same needles attached to wires to deliver gentle electric frequencies that alleviate pain, treat myofascial trigger points, and stimulate acupuncture points. Needles might be placed at or around the affected site for maximum benefits.
Dry needling is the insertion of sterile filament needles into the myofascial trigger points of knotted muscles. When the needle is inserted, it helps relieve muscle spasms and pain while increasing muscle function. Effective for acute and chronic pain, dry needling also benefits your pet’s immune, inflammatory, vascular, neurological systems.

Laser Therapy

Laser therapy uses light to facilitate to stimulate cellular changes. Energy absorbed from the laser increases ATP production within the cell. There is also an increase in blood flow, decrease in inflammation, and increase in nitric oxide production. These effectively help arthritic joints, and reduces nerve, muscle, and post-operative pain and swelling while also stimulating healing. We use in-office laser treatments on a regular schedule to jump start healing effects. After we establish a course of treatment, you can rent or rent-to-own a device for home use.

Rehabilitation and Acupuncture for Exotic Animals

Its not just dogs and cats that can have mobility issues or benefit from Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. Did you know that animals such as lizards and rabbits get arthritis as well? Rabbits are very sensitive to acupuncture and often get relief from just a few needles. We don’t just work with furry patients. Feel free to ask if you are interested in either rehab therapy or an integrative approach to helping your exotic pet.

Therapeutic Ultrasound

You may be familiar with ultrasound’s role as a tool for imaging studies. Therapeutic ultrasound uses the same sound waves at a higher frequency to deliver gentle heat deeply into muscles, tendinopathies, or inflamed joints. Ultrasound helps align collagen fibers so that the tissue is stronger once healed. It can be used for both acute and chronic injuries to increase blood flow to the treated area and to decrease swelling, providing pain relief and increasing mobility.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF)

Uses therapeutic devices (a loop or bed) that target soft tissue with electromagnetic waveforms to boost cellular production of nitric oxide, a key molecule of the body’s own anti-inflammatory mechanisms. This easy-to-use, painless therapy accelerates tissue healing, increases circulation, and reduces pain and inflammation in damaged soft tissue and bone.

Shockwave Therapy

During Shockwave therapy, high energy sound waves are delivered to areas of the body where there are tissue density changes, for example, where tendons or cartilage meet bone. The sound waves stimulate healing and provide pain relief, and are particularly helpful in treating conditions ranging from osteoarthritis, non-healing fractures and disk disease to ligament injuries and tendinopathies. The therapy is considered to be a form of regenerative medicine because it causes stem cells to be released. Stem cells are attracted to damaged tissues and help with healing.

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)

NMES uses small electrical currents to stimulate the contraction of your pet’s muscles without stressing its joints. Older, injured or post-surgical patients may have an irregular gait from muscles that have compensated to deficits over time. NMES retrains muscles to fire properly and helps prevent atrophy. At higher frequencies, NMES can also be used to modulate pain

Veterinary Orthotics and Prosthetics (supportive devices)

We will work with you and your vet to identify appropriate devices like braces to support knee ailments or wheeled carts for post-injury paralysis. RMVR helps fit and maintain these devices with care, and to teach you and your pet how to use the devices properly. Critically, we also provide treatments and exercises to improve your furry friend’s overall gait and muscle fitness to maximize their effectiveness, yielding improved quality of life.

Wheelchair-fitting

Wheelchairs offer new freedoms to pets with limited mobility. We will help you select the best wheelchair for your family member and, when it arrives, we will custom-fit it so that your dog or cat gets the maximum mobility possible without discomfort. Over time, adjustments are required as your pet’s gait or weight changes, among other factors.

Hydrotherapy*

Hydrotherapy consists of swimming or walking in water, oftentimes on an underwater treadmill. The weightless quality of being in the water enables pets to move comfortably, working joints and maintaining or building muscle. It’s used effectively for animal athletes, to build post-surgical strength, and to treat osteoarthritis, among other conditions.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)*

As with humans, HBOT combines concentrated oxygen and increased air pressure inside a chamber. This raises the body’s plasma oxygen concentration, enabling oxygen to diffuse into tissues at a higher rate than would be seen under normal circumstances. This higher rate of oxygen delivery promotes healing. HBOT excels in treatment of spinal cord damage and non-healing fractures or wounds.

Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM)

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced for thousands of years, and its fundamental principles and methodologies translated naturally to veterinary care. TCVM is rooted in the idea that disease is based on imbalances in the body, therefore all body systems are considered during health evaluations. (NOTE: links to “Eastern & Integrative Care” page)

Fundamentals of Chinese medicine include:

Tui-Na – Tui-na (“twee-nah”) is an ancient form of therapeutic massage that involves gentle kneading, stretching, pressure, vibration, and tapping, to accelerate healing. It is often applied at meridian energy points of the body to treat arthritis, digestive issues, musculoskeletal conditions, and loss of vitality, among others.
Herbal Medicine – Various combinations of herbs support health improvements and overall wellness, ranging from pain relief and hind end weakness to improved digestion and allergy resolution. Some herbal formulas support normal cell division (where imbalance has created abnormalities), including the ability to help fight cancer.
Food Therapy – Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This concept is fundamental to TCVM’s food therapy in which a pet’s diet is tied to the energetics based in foods, and how these energies can treat disease and lead to improved health. Warming foods tend to increase metabolism and energy flow, while cooling foods calm the body and reduce excess heat. It’s easy to recognize that watermelon is cold and hydrating or that chili peppers are hot and stimulating. These principles apply to pet diets, too: Dry kibble comprised of chicken is dehydrating (warm) while fish like salmon are cold and hydrating. Food therapy provides solutions for digestive and skin issues, as well as joint pain, kidney disease, and more.
Acupuncture

Telehealth

Experience the convenience of telemedicine appointments at Rocky Mountain Veterinary Rehabilitation. We understand the importance of your pet’s well-being, which is why we offer remote consultations to cater to their needs from the comfort of your home. Through live video conference calls using popular platforms such as Zoom, we provide professional guidance and support.

During the telehealth appointment, we will review your pet’s medical history, discuss your concerns regarding their rehabilitation journey and/or integrative medical interests, and collaborate with you to establish personalized goals and a comprehensive plan to achieve them.

Our dedicated professionals will assess your pet’s gait and thoroughly review any required medications and supplements. We will then guide you through a customized treatment plan, which may include instruction in Tui-Na (Chinese medical massage), talking you through therapeutic exercises designed to enhance your pet’s rehabilitation progress at home, and reviewing potential modifications of your home to help accommodate your pet’s mobility needs. You can count on us to demonstrate techniques such as stretches, gentle mobilizations, and a range of at-home exercises, ensuring that you can confidently continue your pet’s rehabilitation in a familiar and relaxed environment.

To further assist you, we provide personalized video home exercise programs, empowering you to support your pet’s recovery effectively.

At Rocky Mountain Veterinary Rehabilitation, we are committed to delivering exceptional telemedicine services that prioritize your pet’s well-being. Schedule your telemedicine appointment with us today, and together, let’s enhance your pet’s quality of life.