Orthoses and Splinting in Small Animal Practice

This one day workshop aims to:

Provide Veterinary Physiotherapists with a detailed insight into the principles and use of soft supports, splints and orthoses for different conditions affecting the peripheral joints of the small animal.

Introduce participants to the use of different splinting materials and how to ‘measure up’ and make your own carpal and tarsal support up to Grade 3 and assistive devices.

Enable participants to confidently cast for a Grade 4 orthotic.

Lecturer:

Diane Messum

MCSP, HCPC, BSc(Hons), MSc VetPhysio, ACPAT Cat A, RAMP

Davies Veterinary Specialists, Manor Farm Business Park, Higham Gobion, Herts, UK

Diane has been a Chartered Physiotherapist for over 19 years, qualifying from the University of Birmingham in 2002. She went on to specialise in musculoskeletal outpatients and hand therapy where she developed knowledge and skills that were key to her current practice within the small animal field.

Diane completed her Masters Degree in Veterinary Physiotherapy in 2007, awarded by the Royal Veterinary College, London, when she started her owner private practice for equine and small animals. After dividing her time between both human and animal species, she went on to specialise in small animals, joining Davies Veterinary Specialists to head up and develop the Therapy Services in 2011. This came with the fantastic opportunity to work alongside the Orthopaedic and Neurology services, just two of the many specialists’ services at Davies Veterinary Specialists, one of the largest and most diverse small animal referrals hospitals in Europe. Growth of the service led to the launch of the Davies Therapy and Fitness Centre in January 2017 where services now include Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy, Splinting and Orthotics and a Pain Management Clinic including Acupuncture.

Diane has a special interest in the use of splinting and orthotics for the post-operative and conservative management of musculoskeletal injuries. Diane continues to share her own passion for the work she does by lecturing and being an active clinical educator for the Masters/Post Graduate Veterinary Physiotherapy Programmes in the UK.