Bonnie is a 16-year-old (yes, you read that right!) Golden Retriever who has lived a life full of fun. In the past few years, Bonnie has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in multiple joints. Her condition has been managed with pain relief medication.To potentially avoid using more medications, Bonnie’s owner wanted to try physiotherapy to see if this would provide some pain relief and maintain as much mobility as possible.
At first, Bonnie received weekly massage, stretching, and joint mobilizations to alleviate her pain, along with Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) to promote cell healing. Her owner spent time helping her stand for longer periods and promoting muscle activation through exercises. After lying down for a while, Bonnie would often experience numbness in her hind legs and would find it challenging to get up and walk off, often requiring her owner’s support.
Now, Bonnie can frequently rise from her bed herself and is finding toileting much easier too. Her arthritic joints have a greater range of motion, and her muscles are less sore. This story has highlighted to me that a combination of pain relief medication and individualised physiotherapy treatment can make a real difference to older dogs like Bonnie. Her owner’s have said…
