Plus-Hex CLINICAL
Session 8 : 21 September 2022
History
The owner did not report any concerns and said Malbec had been doing well at home .
Pre-session examination
Malbec had very slight muscle atrophy palpable in her right forelimb and lateral scapula , as a result of offloading ; otherwise , nothing abnormal was detected .
Therapy session
Figure 2 . Malbec receiving treats on the UTM .
Session 7 : 14 September 2022
History
Malbec had received a 30-minute physiotherapy session prior to going on the UTM . There was some mild atrophy on her right hindlimb . The owner did not report any significant concerns , and stated that she could walk for 20 – 30 minutes ( sometimes twice in a day ) and then walk 40 minutes the next day . Malbec was still on leadonly exercise until a review with the veterinary surgeon in a month ' s time . Although her owner did not report any lameness and Malbec was coping well with her exercises at home , she did not seem quite right .
Pre-session examination
Muscle atrophy was palpable in Malbec ' s right hindlimb , linked to her offloading her right forelimb and putting more weight on her left forelimb , which in turn led to her offloading her right hindlimb to balance . There was no visible lameness , no palpable spinal fasciculations , she was comfortable through her lumbar spine and she had good global muscle mass .
As it was Malbec ' s first swim , everything was introduced gradually . Malbec was very confident in the water and swam well from the outset . Initially , she was restricted to swimming up and down the pool in straight lines – with rests in between – and then she progressed to clockwise and anti-clockwise loops , following a tennis ball ( Figure 3 ).
Malbec also had some massage and carried out sit-tostand exercises in the water when she was resting / static . A slight amount of heat was palpable from her right forelimb as the session progressed , but this was to be expected given the increased amount of exercise . She experienced no issues entering or exiting the pool via the ramp .
Therapy plan
Malbec was happy and confident in the pool , so it was decided to continue her swims once a week .
Therapy session
The water depth in the UTM was 35 cm . The belt speed was 26 m / min for sets of 30 – 40 seconds . The ball was again used to motivate her to move forward . Bilateral forelimb support was provided for the first set . Malbec moved really well , with even gait and stride length . She had good , even weight-bearing on her limbs throughout . She walked a total of 113 metres .
Therapy plan
It was decided to offer Malbec her first pool session the following week .
Figure 3 . Malbec ' s first swimming session in the pool .
Volume 38 ( 5 ) • October 2023
29