It was a cold winters day and Barley was snuggled up in his basket when he heard his dad return home from work. ‘Great!’ he thought, ‘walk time!’ and he tried to leap out of his basket as he always did.
However his back legs gave way underneath him and he struggled fruitlessly for several minutes. Eventually he made it up and walked rather stiffly to the door to greet his owner. After a few paces, it became easier and Barley was soon running and jumping on his walk.
He came back muddy but satisfied and he totally forgot about his earlier stiffness. He settled down into his basket to rest for a while. Later on he heard his tea being served and again had the same stiffness in his hind legs.
This time his owners watched and helped as he struggled to get out of his basket. They took Barley into Potton Vets who did several xrays and diagnosed arthritis in Barleys hip joints. The vets explained that although arthritis cannot be cured it can be managed.
Management can involve weight loss, regular exercise, K-laser treatment, joint supplements and/or pain relieving anti inflammatory medication. Barley’s owners had never heard of laser treatment and asked for more information. They learnt that Potton Vets is one of the few vets that have a class 4 therapeutic laser.
These lasers transfers energy via the laser light into the cells of the hip joint providing relief from the pain of arthritis and also slowing down arthritis progression. The laser can also be used on cats and small animals as well! For further information on arthritis, the class 4 therapeutic laser and Potton Vets Senior Health Clinics please talk to one of our clinical team, who would be more than happy to help you