It can be difficult for a dog to recover from an injury. And it is more confusing trying to decide the best course of action to take to ensure you provide the best possible treatment for them. Most pet owners don’t understand when and how to wrap a dog's hip. The right therapy wrap plays an important part in the recovery.
Other than using heat/cold therapy pet owners need to understand that, just like humans, pets need mental and physical exercise so that they can live a happy, long life. Caldera International has a wide range of Pet Therapy Wraps which can come in handy if your pet is in the healing process from surgery or simply needs to keep their joints and muscles flexible as they age. These adjustable therapy wraps come with gel packs that can be used for both purposes hot or cold to help your pet recover. These wraps are uniquely designed to fit so that you don’t need to worry about it falling off.
Many of us reach for an ice pack when we have minor injuries, bumps, and sprains but did you know that your dog can also benefit from cold therapy too? Cold therapy or cryotherapy is very inexpensive and can be performed in the comfort of your home. You just need to know how and when to use it. Plus, it is a non-invasive method of reducing pain, swelling, and inflammation. The reduction of pain and inflammation can help speed healing.
How to know if ice or heat is the best for your dog? The answer is straight forward. For dogs suffering from arthritis, heat therapy is considered best. If your dog has acute joint pain or recently had joint surgery, you want to use cold therapy for the first 72 hours after the injury and then shift to heat therapy. The same applies if your pet has recently suffered from an acute injury or has performed strenuous exercise.
How does cold therapy work for pets?
Cold therapy should be used on new injuries within 24 to 48 hours. It is crucial for reducing inflammation, swelling, pain which is the body’s response to tissue damage and pain. The cold will help to numb the area, thereby slowing circulation to the injured area and reducing fluid buildup in the area.
Ideally, cold therapy wrap should encompass the entire area of inflammation. Your pet may not like cold therapy because of the unpleasant sensation. It is normal for the skin to appear slightly red and irritated. Remember to protect exposed skin from direct hot or cold packs. White or firm skin indicates the damage to the skin is taking place and ice therapy needs to be stopped immediately. Apply the ice to the area for 20 minutes at a time, stop to examine the skin every 5-10 minutes.
When to use Cold Therapy on your pet?
You should apply cold therapy to an area as soon as possible to reduce the inflammation and swelling. Even if you take your pet on long walks or hiking or even running as a part of exercising- cold therapy can be used later on to relieve the muscles from pain and inflammation.
What precautions should you take when using cold packs for your dog?
Prolonged, direct contact with cold can damage skin and nerves so always be sure to wrap the therapy gel with a cloth or always use it with a cover. You need to always have a barrier between your cold or frozen item and the skin and never leave them on for too long as it can cause tissue damage.
Heat therapy is one of the therapeutic remedies that serve a unique purpose in decreasing muscle spasms and pain, increases nerve conduction, and enhances flexibility. Heat therapy is one of the easiest and most underutilized therapies that you can use on your pet to ease joint pain and promote healing. To apply heat, you can use dog therapy wraps from Caldera. Apply to the area that’s causing problems for approximately 15 minutes, making sure that it is not uncomfortably hot. Remember, heat therapy is not to be used until 72 hours after a surgery or injury.
How will Caldera’s heat pet therapy wrap help?
It will prevent your pet from falling into a vicious cycle due to joint pain and stiffness. So heat therapy will help to:
- Decrease pain
- Increase blood flow to promote healing
- Increase local tissue metabolism and stretchability
When should you use heat therapy on your pet?
It is recommended to use cold therapy for the first two days of an injury, and if the symptoms still persist or become chronic then switching to heat therapy is the best option. As heat therapy can increase blood flow and help restore movement to injured tissue. As opposed to cold packs, heat packs have the tendency to ease pain from both acute and chronic injuries.
You might not be able to see your dog in pain and with that, you may feel tempted to apply the soothing warmth of heat therapy immediately following an injury which can actually be more damaging than good until most of the swelling is gone.