Here are the most frequenty asked!

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Canine Rehabilitation

  • Initial consultations are necessary so that Dr. Furutani can thoroughly analyze your pet’s current condition. At this appointment, she is able to collect baseline measurements of your pet’s joint range of motion and muscle mass. She consults with the rehabilitation team to curate an individualized care plan to reach your goals.

  • It is extremely important that you continue your pet’s treatment plan at home. Unfortunately, we cannot see your pet every day for rehab. Doing exercises at home helps to maintain your pet’s mobility and quality of life. 

  • Appointments are scheduled based off of Dr. Furutani’s plan for your pet. We schedule appointments from evaluation to the next evaluation. Unless recommended by Dr. Furutani, we do not schedule more appointments than what has been set.

  • Yes of course! We always welcome you into the rehab gym. However, if your pet does better without their pawrents in the room, we may ask you to leave. But, you are more than welcome to sit and watch from the windows.

  • Although highly discouraged, depending on how much of your pet’s appointment was missed, we may be able to to part of your pet’s treatment. Reason being is, we like to respect our other patient’s time and schedule.

Photobiomodulation

    • The process of photobiomodulation is having a concentrated light source over specific areas of your pet’s body. This helps improve tissue repair, reduce pain, and reduce inflammation by increasing the blood flow to the targeted tissue.

    • As a result of the light being heavily concentrated, everyone in the room (including your pet) during treatments have to wear eye protection. Failure to do so could result in other eye issues or blindness.

  • Essentially, the laser “jump-starts” or excites the cells to make more energy to repair any damage to the target muscle, joint, bone, etc.

  • When undergoing PBM treatments, your pet feels a pain-free, gentle, soothing warmth emitted from the laser machine. In fact, a lot of patients tend to experience deep relaxation due to the pain relief.

    • PBM can be used for a wide variety of conditions, some include, but aren’t limited to:

      • Osteoarthritis; bone/joint related injuries

      • Soft tissue injuries

      • Post-operative procedures

      • Superficial and deep wounds

      • Ear infections and hematomas

      • Oral conditions

        • After dental procedures

        • Periodontal/gum disease

      • Gastrointestinal and urinary tract conditions

    • PBM can treat a wide variety of conditions, however, it cannot treat:

      • Directly in the eye.

      • Actively bleeding injuries/parts of the body.

    • Conditions listed below should be approached with caution:

      • Tumors (malignant/benign).

  • Every animal is different and heals at different paces as well. Improvements can be seen as soon as after the first treatment. However, if your pet is being treated for any joint/bone or soft tissue injury, they may seem back to normal and have no signs of pain. It is important to remember that even though they feel good, not to let them go off and do whatever they want as additional injury may be caused during the “feel-good” period.

Shockwave

  • You may find this shocking, but contrary to its name, extracorporeal shockwave therapy entails many single-pulsed high pressure soundwaves to treat acute and chronic pain of the musculoskeletal system.

    • Each sound emitted from the device, includes a focused pulse to a specific joint space, bony structure or soft tissue. A few effects that each pulse does as it’s delivered is: stimulating new blood vessel formation, stimulating bone growth, stimulating nerve function, increasing good nutrients in synovial fluid (joint fluid, which lubricates joints), and releasing nitrogen monoxide for pain relief.

      • During any inflammatory phase, blood vessels tend to constrict and become smaller which causes pain in addition to inflammation. Nitrogen monoxide contributes to vasodilation or opening the blood vessels so that it’s not stagnant. This causes an anti-inflammatory effect.

  • Ultrasound gel is necessary for the soundwaves to travel through the machine to your pet’s body.

    • Osteoarthritis

    • Degenerative joint diseases

    • Musculoskeletal diseases

      • CCL (Cranial cruciate ligament) tears

      • MPL (Medial patella luxation)

      • Hip dysplasia

      • Soft-tissue injuries

        • Muscle/tendon strains

    • Each pet’s dosage is dependent on the condition being treated.

    • Different conditions call for a different amount of pulses needed.

    • Each sound delivers a “pin and needle” feeling, but focused in the area of concern.

    • We are able to control the intensity of this feeling and will turn it up or down based on your pet’s tolerance.

    • ince this treatment is a little more intense than laser therapy, it is expected for your pet to be slightly painful for the first 24-48 hours after their treatment. This is normal.

    • After this time period, your pet may feel better. It is important to note that every pet heals differently and at their own pace. 

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

  • Utilizing your pet’s own blood, it’s spun down to plasma or the liquid portion of blood. We spin down their sample a few times to get the concentrated plasma also known as platelet rich plasma. The plasma helps to regenerate and heal tissue.

    • The platelet rich plasma (fluid portion of blood) recruits cells to the side of the injury, or where it’s being injected.

    • Growth factors are released through proteins to encourage tissue regeneration.

  • The amount of blood collection from your pet is based on their weight. We then spin their blood a few times to get the platelet rich plasma.

    • Osteoarthritis

    • Acute and chronic soft tissue injuries

    • Tendon and ligament injuries

    • Hip dysplasia

    • MPL (Medial patella luxation)

    • CCL (Cranial cruciate ligament) injuries 

    • NO! After getting PRP treatments to any joint, pets must be on strict rest for at least 2 weeks. Short, leashed walks. This helps to maintain the integrity of your pet’s joint health.

    • It’s important to note that your pet may be painful for the next 48-72 hours following the injections. This is the result of joint inflammation from the injection process.

  • In some cases yes, however you may have to repeat the process in 4-6 months as the effects may wear off. 

Moxa

  • Moxa is the use of an ignited, condensed stick of mugwort herb over areas of pain for your pet.

  • After burning the herb down, it becomes a flameless heat stick. The concentrated heat is held over an acupuncture point(s) for a few minutes.

  • The heat over acupuncture points helps disperse stagnation which contributes to pain relief and increasing blood circulation. This overall improves Qi.

    • No, only if it’s used wrong. The stick isn’t directly on your pet’s fur/skin, it’s held 1-2 inches off of your pet’s body.

    • When completing treatments, our finger is near the acupuncture point that the moxa is over. This is how we monitor the heat.

    1. Get your pet in a well-ventilated area. Outdoors work well.

    2. Have a bowl filled with water set on the side with a pair of scissors.

    3. Light the moxa stick and let it burn down for a few minutes. Use the bowl of water to dust the ash into.

    4. Complete your pet’s moxa treatment based on Dr. Furutani’s recommendations.

    5. Place your finger near the points you’re treating. If you feel your finger burning, the stick is too close to your pet’s body. Lift it up and away from your pet’s body.

    6. During treatment, periodically dust the ashes into the bowl of water.

    7. Once treatment is complete, cut off the tip of the moxa (½ an inch back) into the water. If not cut correctly or into the water, the stick or tip will continue to smolder.