Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act, 1982 (Act No. 19 of 1982)RulesRules relating to the Practising of Para-Veterinary Profession of Veterinary Physiotherapist2. Services pertaining specially to the Para-Veterinary Profession of Veterinary Physiotherapy |
| (1) | For the purposes of the Act the following services shall be deemed to be services, which pertain specially to the veterinary para profession of veterinary physiotherapist: |
| (a) | Application of veterinary physiotherapy modalities in order to maintain health and well being, unless an animal presents with any abnormalities and/or pathologies in which case the animal must be referred to a veterinarian; |
| (b) | Management and/or treatment of medical conditions and disfunctions in animals; |
| (c) | Assist a veterinarian with the functional diagnosis of neuro musculo-skeletal conditions; |
| (d) | Work on referral by a veterinarian who has diagnosed the animal or work in consultation with the patient’s veterinarian if there is no direct referral; and |
| (e) | Work on animal species for which training was obtained but may work on other species if in consultation with an attending veterinarian and with owner consent. |
| (2) | The scope of practice of a veterinary physiotherapist includes: |
| (a) | Integration of thorough musculo-skeletal, neuromuscular anatomical, cardiovascular and respiratory system knowledge and veterinary physiology in developing a treatment, rehabilitation and preventative plan for the patient, as well as sufficient knowledge of other body systems to implement an appropriate treatment plan for other conditions which would benefit from veterinary physiotherapy modalities; |
| (b) | Integration of theory and practice to conduct a full functional evaluation of mainly companion animals with musculo-skeletal, neuromuscular or cardio-respiratory dysfunction including, but not limited to— |
| (i) | Subjective evaluation: |
| (aa) | History; and/or |
| (bb) | Habitus. |
| (ii) | Health assessment; |
| (aa) | TPR – Temperature, pulse, respiration. |
| (iii) | Static evaluation: |
| (aa) | Conformation; |
| (bb) | Body score; and/or |
| (cc) | Observation. |
| (iv) | Dynamic evaluation: |
| (aa) | Active movement assessment; |
| (bb) | Gait assessment; |
| (cc) | Joint range of movement assessment; |
| (dd) | Flexion tests as indicated; and |
| (ee) | Functional tests. |
| (v) | Manual evaluation: |
| (aa) | Palpation; |
| (bb) | Manual assessment; |
| (cc) | Muscle strength testing; |
| (dd) | Soft tissue assessment; |
| (ee) | Joint range of mechanics including goniometry and other measurements; |
| (ff) | Use of hoof testers in animals with hooves for purposes of recognizing a red flag; |
| (gg) | Functional neurological assessment; |
| (hh) | Measurement of limb circumference; and |
| (vi) | Sport specific assessment. |
| (3) | Using clinical reasoning skills to set up a treatment plan to enhance optimal function of the animal and defining short- and long-term goals. |
| (4) | Application of appropriate treatment techniques and therapeutic modalities: |
| (a) | Treatment techniques shall include but are not limited to: |
| (aa) | Respiratory techniques on referral of a veterinarian; |
| (bb) | Hydrotherapy; |
| (cc) | Soft tissue techniques; |
| (dd) | Neural mobilisation; |
| (ee) | Manual therapy; |
| (ff) | Use of thermal treatment modalities; |
| (gg) | Rehabilitation exercise; |
| (hh) | Cardiac rehabilitation exercises on referral of a veterinarian; and/or |
| (ii) | Electrotherapy. |
| (b) | Respiratory techniques shall be on veterinary referral and will include but not limited to: |
| (aa) | Postural drainage positions; |
| (bb) | Percussions; |
| (cc) | Vibrations; |
| (dd) | Shaking; and/or |
| (ee) | Nebulizing with medicines prescribed by a veterinarian. |
| (c) | Hydrotherapy shall include but is not limited to: |
| (aa) | Underwater treadmill; |
| (bb) | Pool; |
| (cc) | Spa; and/or |
| (dd) | Cold water compression. |
| (d) | Soft tissue techniques shall include but are not limited to: |
| (aa) | Massage; |
| (bb) | Trigger point therapy; |
| (cc) | Stress point therapy; |
| (dd) | Acupressure; |
| (ee) | Myo-fascial release; |
| (ff) | Cranio-sacral therapy; and/or |
| (gg) | Passive stretching. |
| (e) | Rehabilitation exercise shall include but is not limited to: |
| (aa) | Strength training; |
| (bb) | Flexibility training; |
| (cc) | Stability training; |
| (dd) | Fitness training; |
| (ee) | Balance and proprioceptive training; and/or |
| (ff) | Controlled exercise. |
| (f) | When electrotherapy is used to address a pathology or improve physiology, it should be appropriate for the specie and condition under treatment and needs to be supported by proper training in the use of such equipment. |
| (5) | Treatment of cardio/respiratory impaired patients that have been diagnosed by a veterinarian; Evaluation and treatments shall include but are not limited to: |
| (a) | Exercise tolerance testing; |
| (b) | Non-scheduled medication nebulising (or with veterinarian prescription); |
| (c) | Postural drainage; |
| (d) | Assist the veterinarian when weaning a patient off a ventilator; and/or |
| (e) | Chest mobilisation techniques. |
| (6) | Treatment of minor wounds and surgical sites with appropriate electrotherapy. |
| (7) | Correct application of bandages when required to be removed for treatment purposes and the re-application thereafter. |
| (8) | Understanding the implementation of basic orthotics and prosthetics and advising and referring appropriately. |
| (9) | Client education and communication. |
| (10) | Appropriate application of knowledge of animal behavior: |
| (a) | Sufficient knowledge to be safe; |
| (b) | Sufficient knowledge to recognise the relationship between pain, disease and behavior; and |
| (c) | Sufficient knowledge to recognise normal and abnormal behavior. |
| (11) | Knowledge of sport specific training and equipment and methods used to prepare the animal athletes, excluding nutrition. |
| (12) | Application of first aid of animals and humans in emergency situations. |
| (13) | The ability to work within a multi-disciplinary animal health care team using appropriate language and means of communication for the relevant audience. |
| (14) | Understanding the benefit of complementary fields. |
| (15) | Knowledge of health and safety within the working environment. This shall include but is not limited to: |
| (a) | Zoonoses; |
| (b) | Veterinary physiotherapy body mechanics and ergonomics; |
| (c) | Handling of the patient; |
| (d) | Management of the environment, including hygiene; and/or |
| (e) | Safe use and maintenance of equipment and/or facility. |
| (16) | Clear understanding of “red flags” as defined, being contra-indications to treatment and when to refer back to the treating veterinarian or other relevant member of the animal health care team. |
| (17) | Knowledge of veterinary jurisprudence and all relevant South African legislation and its relevance |