PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR CRITICALLY ILL VETERINARY PATIENTS .1. CHEST PHYSICAL THERAPY

Physical therapy is important for critically ill human patients; howev er, this aspect of care for critically ill veterinary patients has not yet been well developed or emphasized. Prolonged immobilization can a ggravate the primary disease or lead to deleterious effects on healthy body systems. Physical therapy is seldom implemented early in the man agement of critically ill veterinary patients because the complication s of prolonged immobility have not yet caused functional limitations. Also,physical therapy may appear trivial when the veterinarian is conf ronted by multiple trauma or overwhelming illness. This article, which is the first part of a two-part presentation, discusses the role of p hysical therapy in critical care veterinary medicine and describes in detail procedures for chest physical therapy. Part II will discuss phy sical therapy for the musculoskeletal system of critically ill veterin ary patients.