Who should perform a pet's physical therapy?

The best and most qualified professional to perform animal physical therapy is a licensed physical therapist that specializes in the treatment of animals. It is important for the physical therapist to work closely with the veterinarians. Be cautious about the therapist's credentials and experience. It is important for the consumer to understand that being certified in "canine rehabilitation" or "canine massage" does not necessarily mean the individual is qualified to be providing this type of service. The ideal model of animal physical therapy is for veterinarians to refer their patients to licensed physical therapists for evaluation and treatment, with the PTA and vet tech assisting the PT in the treatment of the animal.

Only a licensed physical therapist (PT) or licensed physical therapist assistant (PTA) working under the supervision of a physical therapist are allowed by law to perform physical therapy (on humans). Veterinarians and licensed veterinary technicians are legally able to do physical therapy with animals; however, education on physical therapy is not routinely a part of their schooling. Although there is currently no formal training or degree programs, there are weekend courses available for PTs, PTAs, vets, and vet techs to study animal physical therapy. Also available to these professionals are certification programs in canine rehabilitation and equine rehabilitation.

The certification programs include a series of weekend courses. Keep in mind that the training is minimal in comparison to that which physical therapists go through in graduate programs. Graduate programs in physical therapy are typically 3 years of full time coursework as well as hundreds of hours of clinical training/experience. Therefore, the licensed physical therapist has a far greater depth of rehabilitation knowledge -- biomechanics (how the joints, muscles, ligaments, and nerves work in terms of movement), physiology of injury and recover, how to evaluate and develop the most effective treatment plan specific to each individual patient, etc.

This is not to say that a veterinarian or veterinary technician can not provide competent and effective rehabilitative care. I have personally met some veterinary professionals who do a wonderful job with rehabilitative services. The point is simply that the physical therapist is trained in depth in rehabilitation and amazingly, the animal anatomy and physiology is almost identical to that of the human. Therefore, it is fairly easy to apply that depth of knowledge to another species. Veterinarians and veterinary technicians do not have that depth of rehabilitative knowledge under their belts from their veterinary training, so more extensive self-study and experience are necessary to learn all the nuts and bolts of the science of physical therapy.

I get numerous requests from people of all ages (from kids who dream of becoming an animal physical therapist to adults who are looking to change careers) wanting to know what path of education to take to maximize their success in the field. I tell every one of them that it is optimal to learn the science of physical therapy by going to physical therapy school (even though it is based on the human body), and then once a PT, there are great continuing education courses offered to help therapists apply the knowledge and skills to dogs and horses. In the future, there will be formal graduate programs in animal physical therapy and a more direct path can be taken to enter the profession.


Education levels...

Physical therapists receive a Master of Science in Physical Therapy degree and then must pass a state licensing exam to practice physical therapy. (In earlier years, PTs received Bachelor degrees. However, all physical therapy programs are either at the Masters or Doctorate level now.) Physical therapy programs are approximately 3 years in length at the graduate level.

Physical therapist assistants receive an Associate's degree and most programs are approximately 2 years in length. PTAs may treat patients under the supervision of a physical therapist and are not allowed to do evaluations or make changes in treatment plans without approval of the supervising PT.

Veterinarians receive a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and must pass a licensing exam to practice veterinary medicine. Their education is 4 years in length at the graduate level. As with most professions, to become a specialist, such as an orthopedic surgeon, more extensive education is required. Many vets have openly admitted to me that they learned nothing about physical therapy in their programs.

Veterinary technician education varies from state to state. Many vet techs are trained on-the-job and have had no formal training. Others who are licensed veterinary technicians graduated with an Associate's degree - approximately 2 years of training. Veterinary technicians also do not typically learn physical therapy as part of their schooling.