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David Hall, cofounder of GeniusVets, and Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, discuss findings from a GeniusVets survey on practice ownership

Current trends, threats, and opportunities for veterinary practice owners in 2024

This Q&A style-article takes a deep dive into insights on cancer care for pets

Conversations with oncology leaders

How far have we come, and where are we going? 

Effective feline infectious peritonitis treatment

This year’s recipient is Joshua Blakemore, CVPM, RVT, FFCP 

VHMA announces 2024 Practice Manager of the Year 

Following its guilty plea, Envigo will pay the largest-ever fine in an animal welfare case

Dog-breeding research company to be sentenced for inhumane treatment of Beagles and environmental violations

The primate's guide to healing with nature

Plant powered medicine

Wrap up: Researchers identify genetic mutation causing progressive retinal atrophy, and other news   

The collaboration between Odie Pet Insurance and Insuritas will give Insuritas’ financial institution clients access to Odie’s pet insurance coverage

New partnership between pet insurance organizations announced 

The rehabilitation page is a comprehensive resource for Veterinary news, animal health, and pet care insights on rehabilitation. Read more at dvm360.

Rehabilitation | Veterinary News & Animal Health | dvm360

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Clinical

According to New York City native Matt Brunke, DVM, DACVSMR, CCRP, CVPP, CVA, his time at a mixed animal practice in upstate New York set the foundation for his career as a canine rehabilitation specialist.

“Being at a country practice gave me the opportunity to expand upon my surgical techniques because my mentors were also my bosses. I was doing surgical procedures like extracapsular repairs, MPLs, FHOs, those types of things,” he tells Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, in this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast.

Although his patients were healing, Brunke noticed that they continued to walk oddly and were struggling to run and play with their owners. That’s when he decided to explore the physical therapy options available in veterinary medicine.

In his quest to learn more, Brunke attended a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner (CCRP) course at the University of Tennessee, thus sparking his passion for sports medicine and rehabilitation.

Brunke has helped treat a variety of cases ranging from canine arthritis, geriatric, oncology, hip dysplasia to working canine injuries. He’s even aided dogs in returning to working at the White House.

Brunke attributes much of his success to learning how to advocate for his patients. Now more than ever, he says clients are putting a demand on veterinary professionals to help their pets live longer and happier lives and the best way to do that is to get better at patient advocacy, he says.

Listen below for more on Brunke’s journey to rehabilitation and his thoughts on pet advocacy.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr Christman is joined by canine rehabilitation expert Dr Brunke, as they discuss the initial spark that led him to this niche in veterinary medicine, plus why patient advocacy is so important. 

Episode 45: How working at a country practice unlocked one veterinarian's passion for canine rehabilitation

Although his professional path wasn’t linear, David Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS, has paved a legacy for himself as a veterinary orthopedic surgeon. The certified canine rehabilitation practitioner and 

 tells Dr. Adam Christman that, unlike many people in the profession, he didn’t know he wanted to go to veterinary school until college.

Dycus says he always had an interest in orthopedics, mainly because of his personal experience with injuries and surgeries. During his first week of veterinary school, he made the bold move to tell his anatomy professor that he wanted to become a surgeon. “Well, let’s get through the first month of veterinary school first, then we’ll talk about it,” his professor replied.

He did more than just get through his first year. What began as an 8-week research project as part of his residency program turned into a 4-year large research project funded by Nutramax Laboratories. As his career progressed, he’s been able to teach others the complex theories and applications that he’s learned over the years.

Dycus also explains to Christman the importance of shifting the veterinary industry pendulum from retrospective management of osteoarthritis or starting treatment post diagnosis to early recognition and intervention—identifying patients before they present with clinical and radiographic signs.

“With so many dogs affected by osteoarthritis,” he says, “we can certainly make a huge impact on improving their quality of life.”

Listen below to learn more about Dycus’s professional journey, plus learn some exciting details about his soon-to-launch state-of-the-art multi-specialist facility.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr. Adam Christman is joined by orthopedic surgeon David Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS, who shares the unique evolution of his career in veterinary medicine.

Episode 14: A veterinary orthopedic surgeon’s unconventional journey

Curative Sound launches its new product, CS-Pro VET

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy device comes to the veterinary market

The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine was approved to studied stem cell therapies in dogs and horses

Stem cell trials explore musculoskeletal and neurological abnormalities

Erchonia introduces a new laser for the veterinary market

First ever green and violet laser

The Domer Laser can treat joint, ligament, or tendon injuries, post-surgical wounds, nerve injury, and more

New cold laser therapy devices

The new program aims to have more specialists trained to treat the needs of athletic and working dogs 

New canine sports medicine & rehabilitation residency program launches this month

explained how laser therapy can be used in post-operative, orthopedic, and neurologic cases

How laser therapy can be used for specific patient cases

While at the Fetch conference in Long Beach, California, Tom Walsh, DVM, CCRP, MBA, owner of PrimePet Rehabilitation Therapy in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, sat down with 

 in an interview to explain how lasers can benefit post-operative patients and reduce pain and inflammation. He also discussed the success he has seen with using lasers for orthopedic and neurologic cases in his practice.

The following is a partial transcript of the video.

 So for post-operative pain, lasers are fantastic, because they do reduce inflammation, but they also activate photochemically, the mitochondria, which breaks the pain cycle. And so we're able to go down that path to really reduce that pain and inflammation at the same time. And that's a powerful medium for the animal because even though they can't communicate it, they can feel it and they respond to it very quickly.

Both orthopedic and neurologic cases in my practice, have benefited greatly from laser, obviously, from inflammation reduction, pain reduction. But we've also seen the advancements of studies have come out recently that say, that laser over range of motion is actually even more effective.

Videos

Tom Walsh, DVM, CCRP, MBA, explained how laser therapy can be used in post-operative, orthopedic, and neurologic cases

Conference

explained how to discuss laser therapy as a pain management option with clients

Laser therapy for pain management

 in an interview and shared his start in veterinary rehabilitation. He also explained his tips for talking to clients about laser therapy and how it could be an option for pets in need of acute or chronic pain management.  

 I was going through my clinical rotations and I fell in love with a professor that had amazing results in physical therapy. But then I went on and pursued a general practice career for many years over a decade. Then, during COVID-19, I got a chance to kind of take a deep breath and I started this company, and really followed my passion for just rehabilitation.

It really is about education, letting [clients] know why we're doing it, how often we need to do it—which I recommend 2 or 3 times a week, if not daily, for short segments, and it's a cumulative effect.

Tom Walsh, DVM, CCRP, MBA, explained how to discuss laser therapy as a pain management option with clients

discussed the most common concern he hears from veterinary professionals about lasers

Taking away the fear of expensive lasers

 in an interview and explained his background in veterinary rehabilitation and concerns he hears from veterinary professionals about laser devices. 

 I'm Dr Tom Walsh. I am the owner and veterinarian at PrimePet Rehab in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and I'm a veterinarian that focuses solely on physical therapy and rehabilitation.

I think that the biggest thing that I hear about lasers is that it's too costly and too expensive for them to apply it and/or get any sort of investment return on it...And my argument is that technology is getting better and faster, just like our cell phones. And with each iteration, the prices and competition is making things come down and there's a better spectrum now than there used to be.

Tom Walsh, DVM, CCRP, MBA, discussed the most common concern he hears from veterinary professionals about lasers

explained how laser therapy can be beneficial for reducing pain

How laser therapy can be effective in pain management

, Leslie Gallagher McMahon, CCMT, CCRT, CEO and founder of Two Hands Four Paws in Los Angeles, California, explained just how effective laser therapy can be for pain management. She also shared her tips for expressing the benefits of laser to clients and how it can be a real benefit to painful patients.

Gallagher McMahon will be delivering a joint lecture on laser therapy at our Fetch Long Beach conference tomorrow, December 2nd. Check out all our 

So we use laser on probably most of our clients. I think it's the rare dog—I mean just the dogs with cancer that we don't laser, but we mostly use it for pain relief. And in any of the post-op dogs, we use it for tissue healing. You can also use it for otitis media, you can use your ear infections, you can use it for skin infections. But that tends not to be our focus here. What our number one concern of our clients here is pain management. So rehab laser is always going to be addressing the pain that these dogs are either the geriatrics that have severe osteoarthritis or the dogs recovering from surgery that have an awful lot of pain of post-op pain. Laser has been just miraculous in healing for us to get these dogs better. It's really been a game-changer.

Fetch faculty member Leslie Gallagher McMahon, CCMT, CCRT, explained how laser therapy can be beneficial for reducing pain

explained the importance of learning how to use laser devices

Laser therapy sessions coming to Fetch Long Beach

, Leslie Gallagher McMahon, CCMT, CCRT, CEO and founder of Two Hands Four Paws in Los Angeles, California, explained why in depth learning of laser and how to use the devices can be more effective in getting better results and outcomes with patients. She also expressed what she hopes attendees take away from her session at the upcoming Fetch conference in Long Beach, California. 

Gallagher McMahon will be delivering a joint lecture on laser therapy at our Fetch Long Beach conference taking place December 1-3, 2023. 

I feel like an awful lot of veterinary practices have purchased a laser and nobody in their practice knows how to use it. And that's always super concerning to me because to understand how to use a laser is a lot more than a 15 minute instruction by the company that sold you the laser. We learn about it in rehab school, but even what we are taught in rehab school isn't enough. And I get notes from other clinics that they're doing laser and that it maybe wasn't effective. And I feel really strongly that people need to take courses in how to use a laser and there's a couple of really good ones out there that I'll talk about.

I want people to be able to educate their clients that they don't have to euthanize their dog when the dog goes down. That's probably my biggest one. Because I also hear that a lot. I want technicians and veterinarians to be able to say to their clients, there's another option here. We may not be able to help your dog but I know somebody who can.

Fetch faculty member Leslie Gallagher McMahon, CCMT, CCRT, explained the importance of learning how to use laser devices

her start in veterinary rehabilitation and how she can work alongside primary care veterinarians

How the general practitioner and rehabilitation specialist can work together

, Leslie Gallagher McMahon, CCMT, CCRT, CEO and founder of Two Hands Four Paws in Los Angeles, California, explained the story of how she became interested in veterinary rehabilitation and therapy medicine and why it's so important to her. She also expressed what she is looking forward to teaching attendees at the upcoming Fetch conference in Long Beach, California. 

I'd always wanted to be a veterinarian, but I was never good at math. So I knew I couldn't get into UC Davis, which is right by where I grew up...But after I realized there was nobody in California doing any form of physical therapy, I thought, you know what, I'm going to go back to school and learn how to do it myself. So at 35 I went back to school, I went to vet tech school...But then I went to human massage school, and then I went to canine massage school and then finally canine rehab school opened up.

I am so excited to be invited to talk. I am super passionate about rehab. If you could give me 10 different topics in rehab, and I could talk to you for an hour about all of them. I really want to spread the gospel of how helpful rehab is in conjunction with your regular veterinary practice.

Fetch faculty member Leslie Gallagher McMahon, CCMT, CCRT, shared her start in veterinary rehabilitation and how she can work alongside primary care veterinarians

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