Movement Referrals: Independent Veterinary Specialists

30/07/2026

The Movement keeps growing.

Exceptional teams aren't built overnight.

They're built by attracting exceptional people who share the same values, the same standards and the same ambition to deliver outstanding patient care.

This week, we're delighted to welcome Ollie Anderson to Movement Referrals Midlands as our new Referral Orthopaedic Surgeon.

Following completion of an intensive three-year ECVS surgical residency at the Royal Veterinary College, Ollie joins Movement with experience in advanced orthopaedic and trauma surgery, together with a genuine passion for providing exceptional care for every patient he treats.

Originally from Leicestershire, this appointment also marks a return to the Midlands, where his veterinary career first began. We're delighted to welcome him back to the region to support pets, owners and referring veterinary practices across the Midlands.

At Movement, we believe that exceptional patient care starts with exceptional people. Ollie embodies everything we look for: clinical excellence, humility, teamwork and an unwavering commitment to doing the very best for every patient.

As Movement continues to grow, we're proud that outstanding clinicians continue to choose to build their careers with us.

Please join us in welcoming Ollie to the team.

29/07/2026

🅲 C is for Circling: not all circles point to the same place 🔄

Circling can be one of the most useful localisation clues in neurology 🧠.

But not all circles are created equal.

⭕ Some dogs walk in beautiful, complete circles.
✔️ Smooth
✔️ Deliberate
✔️ Purposeful

These are the circles I associate most with forebrain disease 🧠.

Then there are the messy circles...
🌀 Incomplete
⚖️ Unbalanced
💫 Stumbling
🐾 Falling or rolling

These are often vestibular circles.

And that distinction matters.

🧠 Good circles → forebrain disease
🌀 Bad circles → vestibular disease

In fact, this simple observation can sometimes be more localising than any individual neurological test.

So when an owner says:
💬 "My dog keeps going round in circles..."
my first question isn't:
❓ "Which way?"

It's:
❓ "What sort of circle?"
🎥 Watch the patient.

Once you've seen the difference between a forebrain circle and a vestibular circle, you'll never unsee it.

29/07/2026

🐾 We’re Hiring – Animal Care Assistant (Maternity Cover)! 🐾

Do you have a passion for animal welfare and want to be part of a friendly, supportive team?

Movement Referrals is looking for a compassionate and enthusiastic Animal Care Assistant to join our specialist Orthopaedic and Neurology referral hospital on a fixed-term maternity cover contract.

✨ What you’ll do:
🐶 Care for our hospitalised patients
🩺 Support our Veterinary Nurses and Surgeons
🧹 Help maintain a clean, safe, and welcoming hospital
💙 Make a real difference to the lives of pets and their owners every day

📍 Preston Brook, Cheshire
📄 Fixed-term maternity cover

📧 For more info or to apply Apply visit our website https://movementvets.co.uk/about-us/our-values/work-with-us/
Please share this post with anyone who may be interested!

AnimalLovers ReferralPractice MovementReferrals JoinOurTeam

22/07/2026

🅱️ B is for Backs: The Disc That Lit the Fuse 💣

Hansen Type II disease doesn't get talked about enough.

🧠 Here, we're dealing with chronic spinal cord compression — often present for months or even years before diagnosis.

I explain it to owners like this.
✋ Imagine gently pinching your finger for a long time.
When you let go, it recovers.
The spinal cord is far less forgiving.

Chronic compression doesn't simply squash the spinal cord. Over time it can damage it. Experimental studies in dogs have demonstrated axonal loss, demyelination and cavitation, whilst MRI studies show spinal cord atrophy can continue despite treatment and clinical improvement.

💣 In a sense, the disc may already have lit the fuse.

This is why I think the question:
❓ "Should we operate?"
is often the wrong one.
The better question is:
🎯 "What are we hoping to achieve?"

In Hansen Type II disease, surgery is rarely about cure.
It's about:
🚶 Improving mobility
🏡 Maintaining independence
❤️ Improving quality of life

Importantly, surgery may not change lifespan. What it can change is the quality of the time that remains.
Some dogs benefit enormously from surgery.
Some dogs benefit enormously from avoiding it.

💭 Sometimes the most important decision isn't whether to operate.

It's deciding what success actually looks like.

20/07/2026

BODPUO – Bi-oblique dynamic proximal ulna osteotomy. ​

An osteotomy is when a bone is cut. Proximal, on a limb, means closest to the trunk. The ulna is one of the three bones of the elbow joint. A ”dynamic” osteotomy is one where part of the bone is not stabilised in a fixed position so that it can move. ​

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A dynamic proximal osteotomy can be used to treat some forms of elbow dysplasia, for example incongruity and ununited anconeal process (UAP). ​

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The “bi-oblique” part means that the osteotomy (cut) is made at an angle in two planes. It is angled from back to front and from sided. This is done to limit how far the top part of the ulna can move. ​

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In UAP, abnormal pressure from the humerus stops the anconeal process from fusing to the rest of the ulna. To treat some cases of UAP, we place a screw to stabilise the ununited fragment, and perform a BODPUO to relive the abnormal pressure. If case-selection is correct, clinical outcomes can be excellent. ​

Case Study: Connie – One Year Post-Op
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You can read more about elbow dysplasia in our recent blog, available here: https://movementvets.co.uk/2026/07/01/elbow-dysplasia-in-dogs/​
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17/07/2026

We’re hiring ! 🐶🐱
We are looking for a friendly, organised Veterinary Receptionist to be the welcoming face of our clinic.
If you love people, pets, and fast-paced days.
We would love to hear from you !
📍Based in Runcorn

To apply:

Here is the link to the website - https://movementvets.co.uk/about-us/our-values/work-with-us/

15/07/2026

🅰️ A is for Atlantoaxial Instability: Mind the Gap

Atlantoaxial instability is one of those conditions where the radiograph can look either terrifyingly obvious… or frustratingly subtle.

The classic teaching is to look for instability between C1 and C2, usually in a young toy-breed dog with neck pain or cervical myelopathy.

But here is the practical pearl I use all the time:
Look at the roof-line.

On a lateral cervical radiograph, compare the roof of the canal of C1 with the roof of the canal of C2.
If those two lines are essentially straight, I am usually reassured.
If they form an obvious angle, I start to worry.

You can measure this more objectively as the atlas-to-axis angle. Draw one line along the roof of the C1 canal and another along the roof/long axis of the C2 canal.

As a rough rule:
✅ less than 10° = reassuring
⚠️ more than 10° = concerning for atlantoaxial luxation/instability

And this is where the controversy comes in.

We were all taught to be very cautious with flexed cervical radiographs, and rightly so. Excessive flexion in an unstable neck is not benign.

But the evidence suggests you do not need dramatic flexion. Mild flexion — around 50° skull-to-axis angle — can be enough to reveal the abnormal relationship safely and more objectively.

So my approach is:
1️⃣ Start neutral.
2️⃣ Eyeball the C1–C2 roof-line.
3️⃣ If needed, gently flex.
4️⃣ Measure the atlas-to-axis angle.
5️⃣ Do not over-flex just to “prove” instability.

The aim is not to make the neck wobble.

The aim is to recognise when it already does.

13/07/2026

Arthroscopy is minimally invasive inspection of the inside of a joint, performed using a rigid endoscope. The endosope includes a high-resolution camera, a bright light source, and an irrigating channel. This allows a very clear, highly magnified image of the inside of the joint to be displayed on an ultra-high definition monitor, and for these images to be recorded and stored.

In canine and feline orthopaedics, we use arthroscopy to investigate and treat several conditions affecting different joints. It is most-commonly used to inspect the elbow joints of dogs with elbow dysplasia. This allows us to assess the extent and severity of cartilage damage, and to accurately remove diseased areas of bone and cartilage.

The most common form of elbow dysplasia is “medial coronoid disease”. The medial coronoid process is part of the ulna, and is a “shelf” of bone that supports about half of the force that is transferred across the elbow. It articulates closely with the other two bones of the elbow joint: the humerus and the radius. If there are any problems with how these three bones fit together, or move relative to each other, or if something occurs during bone development, the coronoid process can develop fissures or fractures, or suffer cartilage injury. Arthroscopically guided surgery allows us to remove these areas of diseased bone and cartilage whilst causing minimal surgical trauma.

You can read more about elbow dysplasia in our recent blog, available here: https://movementvets.co.uk/2026/07/01/elbow-dysplasia-in-dogs/

We also use arthroscopy to investigate and treat various conditions of the shoulder and the stifle (knee).

08/07/2026

Something is coming... 🧠✨

For the past few months we've been quietly working on something we're incredibly excited to share.

It's back.
Every week, one letter.
One neurological concept.

One practical lesson that might just change the way you approach your next case.

Not another textbook.
Not another literature review.
Just practical neurology.

The sort of things specialists notice.
The questions we ask.
The mistakes we've made.
The shortcuts that help us localise lesions.
The clinical pearls that never seem to make it into lectures.

From common diseases...
to uncommon diagnoses...
from examination tricks...
to the cognitive traps that catch every one of us.

This isn't simply about learning veterinary neurology.

It's about learning how neurologists think.

Whether you're a new graduate, an experienced GP, a neurology resident, or simply someone who enjoys solving clinical puzzles, I hope there'll be something every week that makes you stop and think...

💭 "I've never looked at it like that before."
⚡ Some letters will challenge conventional wisdom.
🧠 Some may change your clinical practice.
💬 A few might even start an argument.
🎯 That's exactly the point.

So...
Vet Neurobet is back.
🔤 One letter.
📅 Every week.
🧠 The A–Z of how neurologists think.

Because practical neurology should be practical.

And because...

💙 There's movement in veterinary neurology.

04/07/2026