Benefits of Physical Rehab
Pain Management
Canine rehabilitation helps reduce pain and inflammation through evidence-based therapies such as laser therapy, cold therapy, massage, and electrical stimulation. These treatments can improve comfort, support the healing process, and reduce the need for pain medications.
Improved Healing & Mobility
Rehabilitation promotes faster healing through controlled therapeutic exercises. It restores strength, flexibility, range of motion, and coordination while rebuilding muscle lost during periods of inactivity. A structured rehabilitation program also helps reduce the risk of joint stiffness, scar tissue formation, and re-injury, supporting a safe return to normal activity and long-term function.
Psychological Benefits
Recovery is not only physical—it also affects a dog’s emotional well-being. Rehabilitation provides mental stimulation and safe, purposeful activity that can reduce stress, anxiety, and boredom during periods of restricted activity.
Your Pet’s Rehabilitation Journey
Initial Evaluation
One-Hour Consultation & First Rehab Session
Every rehabilitation program begins with a comprehensive one-hour consultation. We’ll assess their condition, discuss recovery goals, and begin treatment right away.
Established VROC patient: $90
External referral patient: $195
Ongoing Rehabilitation
30-Minute Rehab Sessions
After the initial visit, most pets continue with personalized 30-minute rehabilitation sessions to improve strength, mobility, and comfort. Treatment is adjusted as your pet progresses.
Individual Session: $120
Bundle of 6+ Sessions: $99 per session
Home Exercise Program
Continue Therapy at Home
For pets unable to attend regular sessions or those needing additional support, we create customized home exercise programs to continue recovery safely at home.
Stand-Alone Home Exercise Program: $50
*Included at no additional cost with a session bundle
Stand-Alone Laser Therapy
Targeted Pain Relief
Therapeutic laser treatments help reduce pain, inflammation, and promote healing. This option is ideal for pets that would benefit mainly from laser therapy without a full rehabilitation session.
Stand-Alone Laser Treatment: $50
Continuing Care
Personalized Treatment Recommendations
As your pet improves, we’ll reassess their progress and adjust their rehabilitation plan as needed. Whether your pet graduates from therapy or benefits from maintenance visits, we’ll recommend the best path forward for long-term success.
Our Treatment Approach
Successful rehabilitation relies on the right combination of therapies at the right time. Depending on your dog’s needs, our rehabilitation team may incorporate the treatment modalities below to relieve pain, improve mobility, rebuild strength, and support a safe recovery.
Underwater Treadmill
An underwater treadmill combines the benefits of water therapy with controlled walking to improve strength, mobility, and endurance. The buoyancy of the water reduces stress on painful joints and healing tissues, allowing dogs to move more comfortably while still building muscle. Water resistance also helps improve balance, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness. Sessions are individually tailored by adjusting the water level, treadmill speed, and duration based on each patient’s condition and stage of recovery
Therapeutic Laser Therapy
Therapeutic laser therapy uses specific wavelengths of light to stimulate the body’s natural healing processes at the cellular level. It helps reduce pain and inflammation, improves circulation, and promotes tissue repair without causing discomfort. Treatments are non-invasive, painless, and well tolerated by most dogs. Laser therapy is commonly used following surgery, as well as for arthritis and chronic pain management.
TENS and NMES Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation uses gentle electrical currents to support recovery in different ways. TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) helps reduce pain by interrupting pain signals and stimulating the release of the body’s natural pain-relieving chemicals. NMES (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation) activates muscles that have weakened due to injury, surgery, or inactivity, helping maintain muscle mass, improve strength, and encourage proper muscle function during recovery.
Customized Land-based Therapeutic Exercises
Every rehabilitation program includes exercises specifically designed for your dog’s individual needs and recovery goals. These controlled activities help improve strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and range of motion while promoting proper movement patterns. Exercises are gradually progressed as your dog improves, ensuring a safe and effective return to normal function while minimizing the risk of re-injury.
Heat and Cold Therapy
Heat and cold therapy are simple but effective treatments used at different stages of recovery. Cold therapy is typically used after surgery or acute injuries to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. Heat therapy is often introduced later to improve circulation, relax muscles, decrease stiffness, and prepare tissues for exercise. Using the appropriate therapy at the right time helps maximize comfort and supports the healing process.
Forceplate data analysis
Forceplate analysis is an advanced diagnostic tool that objectively measures how your dog bears weight on each limb while standing or walking. This technology detects subtle lameness and weight-shifting patterns that may not be visible during a routine examination. By collecting precise data, we can make informed adjustments to your dog’s therapy plan, ensuring recovery is based on measurable results rather than observation alone.
- TPLO and cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) surgery
- Fracture repair and orthopedic trauma
- Patellar luxation surgery
- Sports injuries that may not be helped by surgery
- Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)
- Spinal surgery
- Degenerative myelopathy
- Neurologic injuries and weakness
- Osteoarthritis and senior care
- Obesity
Testimonials
“I couldn’t be happier with Chelsea and the entire VROC staff in Gus’ post surgery rehab. Every session was intentional where they put the utmost into ensuring Gus was safe, happy, and improving. I couldn’t recommend VROC, Chelsea and the team enough.”
Dean & Gus
Gus • Sheepadoodle • Right TPLO
“Chelsea and Luisa provided exceptional care during Louie’s rehabilitation. Their kindness, dedication, and constant attention made all the difference as Louie improved with every session. We are incredibly grateful to the entire VROC Rehab team.”
Gerardo & Louie
Louie • Pit Mix • Bilateral TPLO
“We cannot thank the Austin VROC team enough for the incredible care they provided to Stewie after his TPLO surgery. Chelsea’s personalized rehabilitation program made all the difference, and Stewie looked forward to every therapy session. We highly recommend VROC.”
Kim & Stewie
Stewie • Shepherd Mix • Right TPLO
Frequently Asked Questions
Every pet’s situation is unique, and the number of sessions needed will depend on their condition, goals, and progress throughout treatment. Our rehabilitation plan is adjusted along the way to ensure your pet is receiving the appropriate level of care. We start our session bundle amount at 6 sessions, as that is a good starting point, and is often sufficient for a typical orthopedic surgery recovery.
For orthopedic post-operative patients, rehabilitation can begin around 2-3 weeks after surgery, after your pet has been rechecked by their veterinarian and the incision has healed. We typically recommend twice-weekly sessions for the first one to two weeks to help establish progress and monitor your pet’s recovery closely. After this initial period, frequency can often be reduced, but continued for another 2-6 weeks. For neurologic post-operative patients, the recommendation may be for more frequent sessions. For non-surgical patients, recommendations can vary widely based on initial condition and long term goals.
We will work with you to create a rehabilitation schedule that best fits your pet’s needs and your availability.
Absolutely! We encourage owners to be involved in their pet’s rehabilitation whenever possible. Your involvement allows us to teach you exercises and techniques that can be continued at home, and you can provide us with valuable feedback about how your pet is progressing between visits.
Many pets also feel more comfortable and confident when their owner is present, helping create a positive rehabilitation experience.
The initial rehabilitation consultation is one hour long. During this appointment, we evaluate your pet’s condition, review their history, discuss goals, and develop and begin a customized treatment plan. Follow-up rehabilitation sessions are 30 minutes long.
For established VROC patients, the initial rehabilitation consultation is $90. For patients referred from outside of VROC, the initial consultation fee is $195.
Depending on what is recommended at the initial consultation, it is usually most cost effective to opt for buying a bundle of sessions at $99 per session. To give a frequent example, the initial consultation plus a 6-session package costs around $700-800 total.
Whether we do laser therapy, utilize the underwater treadmill, do physio exercises on land, or any other modality, it is all included in the overall session price.
Many pets are unsure about the underwater treadmill at first, so we take a slow and positive approach to introducing them. We begin by allowing your pet to explore the treadmill, become comfortable getting in and out, and gradually introduce water at their own pace.
Using positive reinforcement with treats, toys, praise, and encouragement helps create a safe and enjoyable experience. Once they are comfortable, we slowly introduce the moving belt and walking in the water. Most pets understand the process by their second session, but we will always adjust the pace based on your pet’s comfort level.
Even when pets appear to be feeling better, they may still have underlying weakness, reduced mobility, muscle loss, or movement patterns that could lead to future problems. Rehabilitation helps restore strength, improve mobility, support proper movement, and reduce the risk of re-injury.
Our goal is not only to help pets recover, but also to help them return to their best possible function and maintain long-term health and quality of life.
Therapeutic laser therapy is a non-invasive treatment that uses specific wavelengths of light to stimulate healing within the body. It can help reduce inflammation, decrease pain, improve circulation, and support tissue repair.
Laser therapy is often used as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan to help pets feel more comfortable and recover more efficiently alongside their therapeutic exercises.
For owners who are unable to attend in-person sessions, we offer a Home Exercise Program for $50. This includes a customized list of recommended exercises, instructional videos demonstrating proper technique, and guidance on how often and how many repetitions your pet should perform.
This option allows you to continue supporting your pet’s recovery from home while still following a structured rehabilitation plan.
Ready to set up a consultation?
Get your pet moving and feeling better today.
