Success Stories
Dalilah
In November, Dalilah tore her common calcaneal tendon off the bone – a rare and extremely painful injury. As life sometimes hands us multiple obstacles at the same time, her owner had recently retired and was just a few days from relocating to the Myrtle Beach area. When we met Dalilah she was recovering from surgery, and had been fitted with a custom orthotic brace to stabilize her hind limb. Dr Tom worked to coordinate with her surgeon in New York as well as her new referring veterinarian in Myrtle Beach. Once her brace was removed and surgical clearance was granted, we focused on inflammation reduction, pain relief and re-establishing range of motion. In just a few sessions, she transitioned from non-weight bearing to toe-touching to fully bearing weight on that limb. We continued to strengthen that limb as well as re-training her gait, building musculature in the supporting structures and getting Dalilah to fully trust her leg. Today, Dalilah is loving her new ‘retired’ lifestyle and is moving fluidly and with confidence.
Max
In January, Max was playing with his dog housemates and suddenly slipped a disc in his back – this is called Intervertebral Disc Disease in canines or IVDD. With IVDD, there are varying degrees of injury and despite immediate and excellent care, Max had the worst prognosis. With no feeling of either hind limb, we began working on re-establishing the nerve pathways that connect the brain to the paws. This is a complex network and each animal heals differently. Although he had a slow start, we persisted with therapy both at PrimePet and with his owners at home. Within a few months, Max was strong enough to be fitted for a wheelchair and then his recovery really accelerated! Within weeks, Max was walking on the beach twice a day and we began building his strength, balance and coordination. With a lot of hard work and patience, he went from no feeling in both hind limbs to daily beach walks!
Chloe
Chloe was a rescue that had undiagnosed bilateral hip dysplasia for many years – something she hid very well from her owner and friends. As she got older, the jumping and running decreased and the arthritis in her hips was very evident on her radiographs. She was not a great candidate for surgery, and the owner wanted to give her the best quality of life. Initially, we integrated therapeutic laser, massage, PEMF and massage into a basic strength and balance exercise program. She responded well and we moved into more difficult exercises. Even though we can’t turn the clock back to when she was 5 years old, her quality of life and activity levels have dramatically increased.
Maximus
Bicipital Tenosynovitis is a fancy name for a a pinched nerve in the front of the shoulder joint. Maximus was a young, active dog that went through several limping episodes due to this condition. Another strange thing about this fairly rare condition is that it often will randomly affect the opposite shoulder, making it difficult to diagnose and frustrating for owners. After working several sessions to reduce inflammation, we worked with Maximus to extend his range of motion and build the supporting muscles in his shoulders. By also incorporating strength and flexibility exercises in the hind limbs, Maximus was able to resume a very active lifestyle with very few flare-ups, and even when he did feel a tweak in either shoulder, his recovery time went from weeks to just a few hours.
Lainey
Lainey was a rescue with an unknown past that was very active and playful for several years. The owners began to notice occasional limping in her front right shoulder and elbow after prolonged visits at doggie day care. She went on NSAID anti-inflammatory medications and tried several alternative therapies, but the results were inconsistent and short-lived. Radiographs and multiple exams did not indicate a severe amount of arthritis, but also did not point to a specific cause. She was fitted for a shoulder / elbow brace and had to stop going on long walks and attending day care. We treated Lainey for pain and inflammation reduction for several sessions and once the inflammation subsided, we discovered a severely pinched nerve in her neck. We adapted her treatment protocol and included hydrotherapy to assist with range of motion. At home, daily stretching and massages of the neck and shoulder followed by intense cryotherapy to keep down inflammation. Within a couple of weeks, Lainey had resumed long walks without limping and was once again a regular at doggie day care.
Billie
Billie – an 8 month old grey Tabby that suddenly lost feeling in both of her hind limbs. After being evaluated and referred to neurological specialists in Charleston, the diagnosis was still unclear and exploratory surgery was discouraged. In a last-ditch effort, Billie came to PrimePet and we began treating her for a non-specific spinal injury or defect. She had several sessions that only produced small results, but they were significant enough to build a treatment plan. This plan included therapeutic laser, PEMF and designing specific exercises to help Billie establish balance and stability at home. A few sessions later, we saw her tail flick for the first time and she really began to regain feeling and coordination shortly following. Billie has resumed using the litter box and hunting for lizards outside.