Dogs and cats with various diseases of the musculoskeletal system are frequent patients in our offices. Closely related to the musculoskeletal system is the control system, namely the nervous system, which controls movement and makes it graceful. Nowadays, it is no problem to diagnose and treat diseases of these two systems accurately and successfully. The treatment can be surgical or with the help of drugs. However, in many cases this treatment does not immediately eliminate the symptoms associated with the problem in movement. The goal of every veterinarian should be restitutio ad integrum, i.e. loosely translated, a return to the original condition. In the case of diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous system, to return physiological movement. And here, surgical therapy or drug treatment is not always enough. When this happens, we may hear the lament, "The dog has received perfect orthopaedic treatment and yet he continues to limp." How to get out of it? There is another branch of our veterinary medicine, namely rehabilitation and physiotherapy, which, with its expertly guided approach, helps patients with orthopaedic or neurological diseases to return completely or as much as possible to their original state. One of the conditions for success is that the processes and procedures in question should be as evidence-based as possible. After all, we want to offer evidence-based medicine to pet owners.
In order to be able to offer such specialist treatment to pet owners, we need to have trained professionals. Our legislation implies that such professionals are veterinarians and private veterinary technicians. It is not, therefore, graduates of weekend training courses or a few weekend training courses who have the audacity to call themselves animal physiotherapists. However, even those legally authorised to carry out physiotherapy and rehabilitation do not have comprehensive training in this field, just look at the syllabuses of training for veterinarians, and even veterinary technicians. Aware of this shortage, we have established the Association of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation of Animals of the Czech Republic, z.s. (AFRZČR,z.s.), which has taken the task of educating such professionals with sufficient knowledge. This Association has set itself two main goals:
- to create a course where students will learn from experts in their respective fields the necessary theoretical and practical basics for performing physiotherapy and rehabilitation of animals lege artis
- to establish the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation of animals
The first point has been fulfilled. The Course of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation of Small Animals was created. The content of this course is to provide its students with the most complete information about the field. During ten long weekends spread over 18 months, the students will learn about the anatomy and physiology of the musculoskeletal system and nervous system, the pathophysiology of diseases and tissue healing related to the musculoskeletal system, diseases affecting the patient's movement, the physiotherapeutic examination of the patient, passive and motor physiotherapy of animals, the basics of physical therapy (magnetotherapy, hydrotherapy, etc.) and supportive care in the rehabilitation of animal patients, including the administration of various nutritional supplements. Teachers of the course are experts in their respective fields of study MVDr. Aleš Tomek, Dipl.ECVN; MVDr. Jan Beránek, Dipl.ECVS, MRCVS, MVDr. Helena Potfajová, Cert.physiotherapist IRSK-WINGS, MVDr. Vojtěch Novák, CertVA and Dr.Sabine Mai, MSc, MAS, CCRP (Austria). We strive to ensure that the graduates of the course have both theoretical and practical knowledge. So during the course we make sure to verify the knowledge. Every following weekend the students verify their knowledge by a test from the previous weekend. Successful completion of the test is a prerequisite for continuing in the next teaching weekend of the course.
We have already made progress on the second point, and we are missing the last step. We have tried to establish the field by creating the professional qualification of Physiotherapist and Rehabilitation Worker for Small Animals, whose Authorising Body is the Ministry of Agriculture. After almost four years of effort, this qualification has been included in the National Qualifications Framework. In order to obtain this qualification, someone must pass an examination with the State Authorised Person, which is the AFRZČR,z.s. Knowledge The qualification is at level 6, which corresponds to a Bachelor's degree. You can find out more about this qualification in the National Qualifications Framework - www.nsk.cz. Upon successful completion of the examination of this qualification, the graduate receives a document (certificate) of successful completion of the examination of the professional qualification registered in the National Qualifications System, which, like the teaching certificate, has the status of a public document - it proves that its holder is competent to perform the profession for which the qualification is specified and is recognised as such by the employer. We can boast that 21 graduates of the AFRZČR,z.s. course are holders of this qualification. The last step mentioned is to get the Small Animal Physiotherapist and Rehabilitation Worker Qualification into veterinary legislation. We hope that this will also be successful.
Among the participants are also veterinarians. In addition to the opportunity to obtain a certificate of professional qualification, they can meet the conditions of the Educational Regulations of the KVL CR for obtaining professional authorization and use the designation of Veterinarian authorized by the Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons of the Czech Republic in the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation of small animals. The representative of the KVL ČR, MVDr. Martin Zelinka, was also present at our first examinations and so the first veterinarians to be examined can apply for this designation.
The bigger and longer-term struggle is to change the mindset of some of the veterinary community and animal owners. It is a similar situation to that in human medicine. Here, too, there is a constant struggle between professionally trained physiotherapists and massage therapists - often graduates of weekend courses.
In conclusion, let me paraphrase the idea that was at the beginning of this activity: the dog received a perfect orthopaedic treatment and perfect follow-up physiotherapy care and is running again as before the accident.
More information can be found on the website of AFRZCR,z.s. - asofyrez.cz.
MVDr. Renata Kvapilová
Veterinary ambulance
Dürerova 18
Prague 10
