Services Offered

Regional Animal Wellness, LLC
5353 Battlefield Pkwy
Ringgold, GA 30736


Services Offered:


It may be easier to understand what it is we do NOT provide. Simply put, we do not diagnose, prescribe medicine, or do surgery. This is the responsibility of your veterinarian, and the reason a referral is required. We do evaluate and assess your referral information, along with becoming familiar with your doctor's recommendations, to provide the best possible recovery or wellness plan for our patients and their families.

There are many components that comprise a well rounded comprehensive rehabilitation program. From initial evaluation to final recovery, a treatment program must be flexible to adjust to the needs of each individual patient. Hard work and a positive attitude is one way to succeed in therapy. However, it is most important that your expectations be realistic. This is where your rehabilitation practitioner will help. After a through evaluation, we will help determine appropriate expectations with the help of your input.





Below you will find information on the most commonly used modalities. It is not an all inclusive list, but will give you some familiarity before or after your visit with us.

Modality

Any form of treatment rendered to one who has sustained an injury or illness. Rehabilitation Practitioners use a variety of modalities to help treat their patients. There are a variety of treatment modalities that can help strengthen, relax, and heal muscles. Below are a few of the treatment modalities used daily in their practice.


Thermotherapy/Cryotherapy

The application of heat or cold. The heat provided has several important benefits. It relaxes tight muscles causing tissues to relax. This decreases pain caused by muscle tension or spasms. It also causes vasodilatation of the blood vessels which increases circulation to the area. Patients with muscle strains, spasms, or arthritis often benefit from treatment with heat. Cold packs are a frozen gel substance used to treat areas of pain and inflammation. The cold transferred to the patients' skin, muscle, and tissue has several beneficial effects. The cold temperature causes vasoconstriction of the blood vessels in the area. This decreases the inflammation in the area. By decreasing inflammation, pain and swelling are decreased.


Therapeutic Ultrasound

Ultrasound machines are a treatment modality that utilize high or low frequency sound waves. These sound waves are transmitted to the surrounding tissue and vasculature. They penetrate the muscles to cause deep tissue/muscle warming. This promotes tissue relaxation and therefore is useful in treating muscle tightness and spasms. The warming effect of the sound waves also cause vessel vasodilatation and increase circulation to the area that assists in healing. Adjustments of the frequency on the machine can use waves that will decrease inflammation.


Electrical Stimulation

Electrical stimulation uses an electrical current to cause a single muscle or a group of muscles to contract. By placing electrodes on the skin in various locations the rehabilitation practitioner can recruit the appropriate muscle fibers. Contracting the muscle via electrical stimulation helps strengthen the affected muscle. The rehabilitation practitioner can change the current setting to allow for a forceful or gentle muscle contraction. Along with increasing muscle strength, the contraction of the muscle also promotes blood supply to the area that assists in healing.


TENS

A TENS unit stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. It is a small battery operated machine that uses electrical transmission to decrease pain. Electrodes are applied to the affected area. The machine is turned on and an electrical current is sent through the electrodes. A tingling sensation is felt in the underlying skin and muscle. This signal disrupts the pain signal that is being sent from the affected area to the surrounding nerves. By breaking this signal, the patient experiences less pain.


Therapeutic Exercise

Exercising daily plays a crucial role in the process of healing and recovering from injury or disease. This is the goal of rehabilitation exercises. Stretching and strengthening activities are only a few types of exercises. Balance, joint control, and muscle re-training are other types of important exercises. Building strong muscles is an important way to provide joint stability. Strengthening exercises are also important after sustaining injuries that require resting the affected limb. There are many ways to strengthen muscles. We will guide you through the appropriate techniques best suited for the stage of recovery.


Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is a generic term for any type of therapy that involves the use of water to treat illness, manage pain, or relieve stress. The underwater treadmill is a form of hydrotherapy that involves a tank filled with water that has a treadmill in the bottom. The advantages of using an underwater treadmill versus a land treadmill is that it decreases pain and weight bearing stressors, offers generalized muscle relaxation in a warm water environment, challenges coordination and balance, and increases strength.


Post Surgery

After surgery, most patients are started on a recovery program prescribed by their veterinarian and over seen by a rehabilitation practitioner. Discomfort after surgery often leads to decreased use of the affected area. This leads to stiffness and weakness. As a result, early rehabilitation helps to prevent this from occurring.


Range of Motion

What is Range of Motion? Range of motion (ROM) is the measurement of the amount of movement around a specific joint or body part. It is commonly measured during a rehabilitation evaluation or during a course of treatment. Other impairments that your physical therapist may measure include strength, gait, flexibility, or balance. Range of motion is measured by your physical therapist using a device called a goniometer. A goniometer is a metal or plastic handheld device with two arms. Numbers representing angular distance are on the device, much like a protractor. Your physical therapist lines up the arms along your body, and then he or she can move your body in specific directions and measure the amount of motion that occurs. In general, there are three types of ROM that are measured. They are passive (PROM), active-assistive (AAROM), and active (AROM). Passive ROM occurs around a joint if you are not using your muscles to move. Someone else, therapist, manually moves your body while you relax. Active-assistive ROM occurs when you are able to move your injured body part, but you may require some help to move to ensure further injury or damage does not occur. The assistance that helps move your body can come from you or from another person.Active ROM occurs when you use your muscles to help move your body part. This requires no other person or device to help you move. Active ROM is used when you are able to start moving independently after injury or surgery, and little or no protection from further injury is needed. Strengthening exercises are a form of active ROM.