Poppy’s Story – Cruciate Ligament Rupture (TPLO repair) and hip dysplasia
Poppy is a bouncy, fun-loving 3 year old Springer Spaniel, who lives life to the full.
Poppy first came to see me with an intermittent lameness in her back leg, which the vets initially suspected was a muscle injury. However, things didn’t quite add up and after some further investigations, she was diagnosed with a Cruciate Ligament tear AND hip dysplasia!
Sadly, her ligament rupture required surgery, but only 8 weeks later, Poppy returned to physiotherapy to help her recover.
Our initial goal was to reduce Poppy’s pain levels and encourage her to use her leg properly, before slowly adding in strengthening exercises to help her rebuild her back leg muscles. This is crucial for Poppy as having great back leg strength will not only protect her other cruciate ligament, it helps reduce the excessive movement in her hips due to her dysplasia.
Poppy worked super hard throughout her physiotherapy journey, making sure she used all of her muscles and even paying attention in her anatomy lessons! And in only 3 months, Poppy had made a full recovery and graduated from her rehabilitation programme! She now comes to physio every 3-4 weeks for maintenance and fitness. Keep up the good work Poppy!