Physical therapy applications for neurological and orthopedic disorders in the rehabilitation of cats and dogs and evaluation of their results

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate physical therapy and rehabilitation (PTR) applications for neurological and orthopedic disorders in the rehabilitation of cats and dogs and the results obtained from these applications. Material and Methods: The study material consisted of a total of 20 cases, 11 cats and 9 dogs. Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), therapeutic ultrasound (TU) and low-dose laser therapy (LLLT) were used for PTR in these cases. Results: 55% of the cases evaluated within the scope of the study were distributed as cats and 45% dogs. Of these cases, 4 cases were muscular (20%), 9 cases were patellar dislocation or hip joint-related (45%), 1 case was Leg Calve Pertes (5%), 8 cases were hip dislocation (40%)), and the remaining 7 cases were determined to have neurogenic origin (35%) (6 spinal trauma (30%), 1 radial paralysis (5%)). Among the cases included in the study, only 6 (30%) underwent PTR alone without any surgical planning. In the other 14 cases (70%), PTR was performed after a surgical operation for treatment. When the cases were evaluated among themselves, the average age of the cats was calculated as 18.90 months and the dogs as 31.77 months. 6 of the cats were male, 5 were female, and all of the dogs were male. While PTR applications provided a significant improvement in orthopedic applications, complete recovery could not be achieved in some of the neurological cases. Conclusion: When a treatment is planned solely as medical or surgical for various orthopedic and neurological disorders in cats and dogs, TENS, TU and LLLT can be used in combination among the preferred PTR applications for many purposes such as patient comfort, pain control, acceleration of recovery, and owner satisfaction. According to the findings obtained with the doses and durations in the thesis study presented with this combination, the results are quite satisfactory and we recommend that FTR applications consisting of a combination of TENS, TU and LLLT be used alone or as a complementary treatment for orthopedic and neurological disorders in the rehabilitation of cats and dogs. Key Words: Physical therapy and rehabilitation (FTR), cat, dog, transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), therapeutic ultrasound (TU), low-dose laser therapy (LLLT)