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Careers In Veterinary Medicine

Benefits of rehabilitation for animals have been documented in the literature as early as 1970. However, in the past few years, the field has rapidly begun gaining ground, becoming more understood, studied, and accepted. Educators are beginning to catch on to the trend by offering joint-discipline courses to both physical therapy and veterinary students. "In just this past year, elective courses for animal physical therapy became available in four colleges, two in physical therapy programs and two in veterinary programs," reports David Levine, PT, PhD, Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Tennessee.

One of those courses, "Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine," was offered as an elective course this May in a joint effort between Elon College's graduate program in physical therapy and North Carolina College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University.

"A course like this helps to educate vets on the benefits of physical therapy, and helps the field to grow," says Kyndy Boyle, PT, MS, OCS, Professor of Physical Therapy at Elon. "As it does, those vets who are interested in rehabilitation for their patients will have greater access to people with the knowledge and training to execute it."

Twelve PT students and 12 veterinary students enrolled in the new course, which was held at the Veterinary College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Coordinated by Denis Marcellin-Little, DEDV, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery NCSU and Boyle, and featuring guestlecturer Levine, the course combined aspects of both veterinary medicine and physical therapy.

Boyle and Marcellin-Little agree there is no doubt that rehabilitation enhances the recovery of pets after many injuries or diseases. "In some cases, rehabilitation is the difference between life or death, or complete success or failure of a surgery," says Marcellin-Little. "Some veterinarians know the basic principles of rehabilitation, but physical therapists are significantly more familiar with these principles; in fact, they master them. For a veterinary practitioner interested in optimizing the rehabilitation of his or her patients, it seems logical to understand the benefits of physical therapy and to collaborate with a physical therapist."

Students take the class with different objectives: PT students are there to learn general animal anatomy and medicine, while veterinary students are learning about what therapy can do for their patients. Topics include anatomy, cryotherapy, heat therapy, massage, modalities, neurology, orthopedics, therapeutic exercise, and case discussions. Also included was a profile of the physical therapy profession for the veterinary students, provided by Boyle.

Laboratories provide students an opportunity to work directly with the animals and see the effects of physical therapy first hand. "It's certainly more time intensive than human therapy," says Levine. "It's one-on-one the whole time, and you have to lead the pet and motivate it through the whole exercise. Just like in human therapy, you do an examination and evaluation to determine the problem and work closely with the doctor to devise an intervention plan. The exercises are even similar. It's not been a traditional part of practice, but a lot of vets are beginning to understand the benefits.

"It is definitely an area that needs to be explored and charted," says MarcellinLittle. Levine concurs. "It is a growing area-one that's been on the horizon and is becoming much more accepted. It just exploded in the last 1 to 2 years."

The NCSU-Elon course will continue as part of the curricula for both schools. "We will continue with the yearly format, and we are also considering offering it to veterinarians and physical therapists already in practice," says Marcellin-Little. Boyle also agrees that the program has been a winner. "This was a successful pilot course, and we are looking forward to the possibilities for growth."

In Levine's opinion, that possibility is a sure one. "Many more animal clinics are providing physical therapy, and the attitude toward animal therapy is becoming much more accepted. Seeing it in university curricula will consequently make it more popular. As interest in and knowledge about animal physical therapy continues to increase, having veterinarians and physical therapists trained early on in their careers will help to establish this domain, as well as establish a mutual respect for each others' skills."

Copyright American Physical Therapy Association Sep 2000
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