Sentient Physiotherapy

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Sentient Physiotherapy

Animal and Human Physiotherapy services 🐾🐎
In person & Online Consults
Online Canine Rehab Programs
Eductional content on rehab for you and your animal

01/11/2026

Dogs are athletes too 🐾

Think about how your dog moves: sprinting, jumping, sharp turns, sudden stops. That's athletic work, and like any athlete, their bodies need support to stay strong and injury-free.

In this video you'll see some of the exercises we use in clinic and at home:
🔹 Cavaletti poles for coordination and limb awareness
🔹 Step-ups for hind limb strength
🔹 Peanut ball work for core and forelimb strength
🔹 Balance work for proprioception and stability

Rehab isn't only for after an injury. Building strength now helps your dog stay active, confident and moving well for years to come.

Want to get started at home? My Foundation Strength & Mobility course walks you through it step by step: https://www.skool.com/physiotherapy-for-dogs-7857/about

Or if your dog is recovering from injury or surgery, get in touch to book an assessment with Sentient Physiotherapy (link in bio) 💜

22/10/2026

Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) Surgery - Nobody hands you this list at discharge.

If your dog has had (or is facing) CCL surgery, you’ve probably been given a timeline, a list of restrictions, and a lot of good intentions. What you’re not always told is what actually determines how well your dog recovers . Not just whether the bone heals, but whether they come out the other side strong, confident, and moving the way they should.

Things like: how long true functional recovery really takes (longer than most people expect), why the “good” leg needs just as much attention as the injured one, how the nervous system itself can quietly limit a dog’s movement even after the tissue has healed, and why rushing back to off-leash play is one of the most common causes of re-injury.

Recovery is about far more than rest and time, it’s an active process, and the right support in those months after surgery can make all the difference.

If your dog is heading into or recovering from CCL surgery, I’d love to help make sure they get there in the best shape possible. 🐾 Link in bio to book an assessment.

13/10/2026

She's had two knee surgeries. Now she's just trying to grow old comfortably.

This girl's case is a great example of what proactive pain management actually looks like, working alongside her vet, combining laser therapy, dry needling, and targeted strength work to keep her comfortable and confident in her senior years.

You don't get these years back. Let's make the ones she has left the best they can be.

🐾 Book her assessment - link to website in bio.

08/10/2026

Your dog isn’t “just getting lazy” 🐾

If your dog is hesitating before jumping in the car, slower on walks than they used to be, or starting to struggle with stairs, that’s not just old age. That’s a body asking for help.

Dogs are incredibly good at masking discomfort, which means by the time we notice a limp or obvious stiffness, compensation patterns have often been building for months. The good news? Early strength and mobility work while managing pain relief alongside your vet can slow that decline significantly and keep dogs active, confident, and comfortable for years longer.

This is exactly why I built the Foundation Strength & Mobility course. This is a structured, 8 week physio-led program you can start at home, whatever stage your dog is at.

🔗 Clink the link in the about section to learn more. Join our free community.

27/09/2026

How do you strengthen a muscle your dog or cat won't use? 🤔

After surgery or injury, our pets often stop using the sore leg, and muscle can waste away surprisingly quickly.

That's where NMES (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation) comes in. It sends a gentle signal that makes the muscle contract for them, so it keeps working while they heal.

📚 What does the research say?
In humans, 8 weeks of NMES on its own increased thigh muscle size by up to 6% and strength by about 9% (Akagi et al., 2023).
In dogs, a study after cruciate surgery found those given NMES had less muscle wasting and less lameness than dogs without it (Johnson et al., 1997).

It's a bridge, not the finish line. Once they're moving well, active exercise does the real rebuilding 🐾

Has your dog or cat had surgery or started losing muscle? Tell me about them in the comments 👇 or send me a message to book a consult.

📍 Sentient Physiotherapy, Mornington Peninsula

🔗 Foundation Strength & Mobility course: https://www.skool.com/physiotherapy-for-dogs-7857/about?ref=5dda1e5b34364bbe91fba93b84e19fc2

20/09/2026

6 weeks post spinal surgery and look at those back legs! 🥹🐾

This little Dachshund is recovering from spinal surgery and is now starting to get herself up and use her hind limbs again.

You can still see some ataxia, those wobbly, uncoordinated steps caused by disruption to the nervous system.

This is where neurological rehabilitation becomes so important.

Neuro rehab is about helping the nervous system relearn movement. Through targeted exercises, we work on:

🐾 Weight-bearing - encouraging appropriate use of the hind limbs
🧠 Proprioception - helping the brain recognise where the limbs are
⚖️ Balance & coordination - improving control over movement
💪 Strength - rebuilding muscles after reduced activity
🔄 Movement patterns - encouraging more efficient, purposeful movement

Recovery after spinal surgery doesn’t necessarily stop once the surgery is over. The nervous system can take time to recover, and physiotherapy helps us provide the right stimulation and challenge at each stage.

For Dachshunds, who are particularly prone to IVDD, understanding spinal health and rehabilitation is incredibly important.

14/09/2026

Why take your dog to physio? 🐾

Because your dog doesn’t have to be injured to benefit from it. Physio builds the strength, mobility and body awareness that keep active dogs doing what they love - swimming, running, and keeping up on every adventure, while lowering the risk of injury along the way.

And the care I give my own dog is exactly the care I give yours. Same attention, same standard, same goal: a strong, comfortable body that lasts for years.

Whether your dog is a weekend warrior, a sporting athlete, or recovering from an injury, physio is one of the best things you can do for their long-term health and happiness.

Ready to give your dog that head start? I’m now offering Online Movement and Biomechanics Assessments so you can access qualified advice from anywhere. Visit my website to book (link in bio).

13/09/2026

But the x-ray came back clear, so how do they know it's the cruciate?

It's one of the most common questions I hear, so let's clear it up. 🐾

If your dog has been diagnosed with a cruciate (CCL) injury - the dog equivalent of the human ACL. Here's the part that surprises most owners: the x-ray doesn't actually show the torn ligament. Ligaments are soft tissue, so they never appear on film. What the x-ray does show are the clues around it - fluid and swelling inside the joint, and the arthritis that builds up over time. The diagnosis itself comes from a hands-on exam, feeling for movement in the joint that a stable knee would never allow.

And in dogs it's rarely one dramatic moment. Unlike a footballer tearing an ACL on the field, a dog's cruciate usually weakens and frays slowly, over months or even years.

From there, the big question is conservative management vs surgery - and the honest answer is that it depends on the dog, the knee, and the household. There's no one-size-fits-all rule.

But here's the thing I really want owners to take away: whichever path you choose, rehabilitation is what decides the outcome. Surgery isn't a finish line: how well a dog recovers depends heavily on the rehab that follows it. And conservative management is rehab. Either way, a structured, progressive programme to rebuild strength, control and confidence is what gets your dog back to doing what they love.

I've put together a full breakdown in the images - have a tap through, and if you're facing this decision with your own dog, feel free to send me a message. Always happy to help you map out the road ahead. 💜

27/08/2026

Dexter’s story is a great reminder that recovery isn’t always a straight line 🐾

After his hindlimb was amputated following an injury, Dexter was doing really well until about 2 weeks in, when he started sitting more often and seemed uncomfortable moving around.

On assessment, we found he’d started doing too much too quickly, without giving his joints time to adjust to his new way of moving. We treated him with a combination of laser therapy, dry needling, massage and joint mobilisations.

A couple of months on, Dexter is on reduced pain medication and doing so much better. Cases like his are why individualised rehab plans matter, even after the “hard part” of surgery is over.

If your pet has had an amputation or major surgery, get in touch as
early, tailored rehab can make a big difference. 💜

07/07/2026

🚨 One common mistake I see owners make after their dog’s injury…

…is returning to normal exercise too quickly.

Your dog is no longer limping.
They’re running around the house.
They seem back to their usual self.

So it feels like they’re healed.

But healing doesn’t happen overnight.

After an injury, your dog’s body goes through three important stages:

🩹 Inflammation (first few days): The body clears away damaged tissue and starts the healing process. Some inflammation is normal and necessary.

🌱 Repair (next few weeks): New tissue begins to form. At this stage, it’s still weak and disorganised, so too much exercise can easily overload it.

💪 Remodelling (weeks to months): The new tissue gradually becomes stronger, more organised and better able to cope with normal activity. This stage takes much longer than most people realise.

This is why your dog may look better long before they’re actually ready to return to normal exercise.

➡️ Swipe through to see the typical healing times for different tissues. You’ll notice that many structures continue healing for months, even when your dog appears pain-free.

The goal of rehabilitation isn’t just to get your dog out of pain - it’s to rebuild strong, resilient tissue so they can safely return to doing what they love, with a lower risk of re-injury.

❤️ Healing takes time. The right progression makes all the difference.

Address

Langwarrin, VIC
3910

Website

http://www.sentientphysiotherapy.com.au/, https://www.skool.com/physiotherapy-for-dogs-7857/about

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