Congratulations to Renee Yacoub, CVT, CCRP, CCRVN, who has been selected as the winner of the Healing Oasis Wellness Center Rehabilitation Technician Case Report grant. Her winning case report is entitled "Rehabilitation Following Biceps Brachii and Supraspinatus Tendinopathies in a 5-Year-Old Havanese." Read her case report here.

 

Renee will present her winning case report at the 2019 Healing Oasis Conference, to be held November 1-3, 2019, at the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois. She also will receive a $1,000 grant applied to registration, transportation, and lodging for the conference. The conference theme is "Integration and Understanding: The Missing Links To Recovery."

 

Renee received a BS in Zoology in 1998 and worked as a veterinary technician for more than 10 years in New York City. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Practitioner through the University of Tennessee with Northeast Seminars and a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Veterinary Nurse through the Canine Rehabilitation Institute. Renee is currently pursuing her Canine Massage Certification through Canis Bodyworks. Currently she works at Integrative Pet Care in Chicago.

 

For more information about the remaining AARV grant opportunities, please visit the Grant Opportunities page in the Members Area of the AARV website.

 

Thank you to Healing Oasis Wellness Center for its continued sponsorship of AARV! 

• October 1: Case report submission deadline
• October 15: Decision notified to authors
• VMX 2020: Presentation of study results

Now Taking Applications for Tripawd Rehab Reimbursement

"Just let your dog be a dog," our veterinarian advised when our dog Jerry lost a front leg to osteosarcoma. If only we had known about the importance of rehabilitation therapy! Today, the Tripawds Foundation that Jerry inspired is educating pet parents with new amputees so they never have to learn the hard way like we did, through the Maggie Moo Fund for Tripawd Rehab.

Sadly, most Tripawd parents still do not know of the importance of seeing a credentialed rehabilitation practitioner. We are trying to change that, by getting Tripawd parents through your clinic doors as soon as possible after surgery. When they do, their first visit is on us!

Thanks to generous sponsors and donors who support the Maggie Moo Fund for Tripawd Rehab, the Tripawds Foundation will grant up to $200 in reimbursement to any member who visits a certified animal rehabilitation therapist for a first-time evaluation. Anyone can qualify; this is not a need-based grant.

"This experience showed me that going to rehab is a critical step in aftercare for any amputee. It taught me why my dog is uncomfortable, where he is uncomfortable, and exactly how to fix it so he can live a pain-free, quality life," says Piper's mom, a recipient.

We want more Tripawds to experience the benefits of rehabilitation therapy and appreciate your letting clients know about this valuable program.

Got questions? Contact Tripawds Foundation today. We are here to help you help Tripawds everywhere. Stay tuned for additional AARV and Tripawds Foundation partnerships!

Long Lake Animal Hospital is a full-service veterinary hospital with a modern facility that uses the latest technological advancements. It employs a professional and caring team, and also includes a dedicated rehabilitation department, the Animal Rehabilitation Center of Northern Michigan. Located in Traverse City, Michigan, Long Lake was bought in July 1998 by Jeff and Lisa LaCross. The mission of Long Lake Animal Hospital upon opening was to provide both their clients and pets with the very best in veterinary services and to offer information and services that will provide for the long-term health and happiness of their patients while always staying up to date with industry advances.

The area of rehabilitation medicine quickly became of interest to Dr. LaCross after opening Long Lake. It has been a steady increase in her focus and development, and she is now a CCRT and cVMA. Although their regular practice is still very much a part of their daily activities, they enjoy growing and learning new therapies. The Animal Rehabilitation Center was added onto the hospital in 2011, which gave them a beautiful therapy floor, a spacious consult room, boarding rooms, and an underwater treadmill. The rehab wing has a separate waiting area and is set up so it can operate smoothly throughout the day without interruption from the main hospital. Continue reading about the Animal Rehabilitation Center of Northern Michigan ...

by Theresa Pancotto, DVM, MS, MS, DACVIM(N), CCRP

Legislative Liaison

Now that all of the AARV links to practice acts are updated, I'm going through each state at random and providing an interpretation of the acts to better guide individuals in managing physical rehabilitation as it pertains to their practice and state.

Interpretation
"Physical Therapist" is a protected term in the state of Texas covered by the Physical Therapy Practice Act. Within either chapter, there are no specific provisions addressing animal "physical therapy" or physical rehabilitation and the definition of "physical therapy" is not exclusive to humans. Recommendations to veterinarians who wish to practice physical medicine in the state of Texas include using terminology such as "physical rehabilitation" or "physical medicine."

In Texas, practice of chiropractic and musculoskeletal manipulation must be performed by a licensed veterinarian or a non-veterinarian employee under direct or general supervision of a licensed veterinarian. The definition of Holistic Medicine includes "applied kinesiology" and must be performed by a veterinarian. The terminology of "physical rehabilitation" is not utilized in the practice act or rules. However, based on interpretation of the combined documents, physical rehabilitation should be performed by a licensed veterinarian. Some therapeutic exercises may be performed by a non-veterinarian employee with direct or general supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

Veterinary Licensing Act
801.151 (c.2) ensure that alternate therapies, including ultrasound diagnosis and therapy, magnetic field therapy, holistic medicine, homeopathy, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, and laser therapy, are performed only by a veterinarian or under the supervision of a veterinarian

Rules Pertaining to the Practice of Veterinary Medicine
RULE §573.14 Alternate Therapies--Chiropractic and Other Forms of Musculoskeletal Manipulation (a) Definition. For the purpose of this rule, animal chiropractic and other forms of musculoskeletal manipulation (MSM) are systems of therapeutic application of mechanical forces applied manually through the hands or any mechanical device to treat and/or alleviate impaired or altered function of related components of the musculoskeletal system of nonhuman animals. Animal chiropractic and other forms of MSM in nonhuman animals are considered to be alternate therapies in the practice of veterinary medicine. (b) Treatment using animal chiropractic and other forms of MSM. Animal chiropractic and other forms of MSM may only be performed by the following. (1) A licensed veterinarian. (2) A non-veterinarian employee or an independent contractor. A non-veterinarian employee or an independent contractor may perform these procedures on an animal under the direct or general supervision of the veterinarian if the conditions in paragraph (1)(A) - (C) of this subsection have been met.

RULE §573.17 Alternate Therapies--Holistic Medicine (a) Definition. For the purpose of this rule, holistic medicine means: the practice of veterinary medicine that believes in a blend of alternative and, if need be, conventional approaches of treatment in an effort to develop a system of complementary medicine to treat the whole patient. In practice, it incorporates less conventional methods such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, and applied kinesiology, with more conventional methods, such as 28 modern drugs, surgery and diagnostics.

No veterinarian may allow a non-veterinarian employee or other agent to perform holistic medicine in the treatment of an animal patient.

PT Rules 2019
453.001 (4) "Physical therapist" means a person who is licensed by the board as a physical therapist and practices physical therapy. The term includes a hydrotherapist, physiotherapist, mechanotherapist, functional therapist, physical therapy practitioner, physical therapist specialist, physical therapy specialist, physiotherapy practitioner, kinesiotherapist, physical rehabilitation specialist, and myofunctional therapist.

(6) "Physical therapy" means a form of health care that prevents, identifies, corrects, or alleviates acute or prolonged movement dysfunction or pain of anatomic or physiologic origin

341.9 (B) "voluntary charity care" means physical therapy services provided for no compensation as a volunteer of a charitable organization as defined in §84.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Charitable organizations include any bona fide charitable, religious, prevention of cruelty to children or animals, youth sports and youth recreational ..."

See the State Practice Acts page on the AARV website for links to state practice acts for every state.

 

Do you have an event to add to the AARV calendar? All calendar posts are now free for AARV members. Please send your calendar event to info@rehabvets.org and be sure to include the name of the event, speaker, topic, date, time, location and URL. Rehabilitation related events/classes only, please.

 

 

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