Veterinary Physical Therapy is a field I would love to see more
studied formally and more widely available. (As someone who had PT
from birth -- having been lucky enough to be located near a vets
hospital so one area hospital used some of the same PTs -- till 13 or
14 (skew-z clubfeet and varus ankles), then had PT and OT later with
a neural disease in my late 20s-early 30s, and recently PT with a
second bout of neural disease about a quarter century later I am an
absolutely huge fan of the profession. I know how much ability it
can restore in an individual when it is carefully designed by a
professional (and having had a substitute PT vary from what the
orthopedic specialist said was okay for my ankle malformations I also
know that done wrong it can worsen things), and that it can be a
great way to limit or eliminate pain. Anyway, PT and past braces are
why I can walk, and I walk a lot and with great joy, so I would love
to see the lessons of that specialty used more for animals as well
because I know how effective it can be and that it can help avoid
surgeries for a number of individuals when done right, plus PT strong
adds to quality of life.

So, looking in the web to see what I can find in the way of
professional approaches for veterinary use:

http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/rehab/profession/

http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/rehab/

Includes a slide show. A variation of that buoyant vest for dogs
which they use instead made for ferrets might be a way to maximize
natural motion in water. Perhaps plastic packing pellets could be
used. I would suspect that the vest would need material all around
to not dig into the animal, but the pellet placement would have to be
mostly at the back and maybe somewhat at the sides. What do you
think? The current techniques of doing ROM (range of motion) while
holding the ferret or using a towel under the body enforce a somewhat
unnatural back posture when in a combination with standard paddling
motions. A curved back is more of a pronging posture. Buoyant
floating vests would also allow gradual increase in weight bearing
exercises.

Rehab certification exists for horses and dogs:

http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/rehab/programs.shtml

Finding practitioners who work on dogs (the closest thing with
certification):

http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/rehab/practitioners.shtml

http://www.canineequinerehab.com/practitioners.asp
(by state in U.S. and country elsewhere)

and

http://www.neseminars.com/

(Direct link has changed so work from there or use their contact info.)

Here is a site with video and more:

http://www.pawsinmotionvet.com/

for increasing weight bearing abilities note the level of water is
one which is hard to use for a ferret in a natural posture without
perhaps using a float vest:

BEGIN QUOTE
When the water is at the hip level, the buoyancy helps the animal to
walk more normally without as much joint discomfort. Also, animals
with lack of balance or coordination are able to walk without fear of
falling in the water. Our experienced staff will assist your dog in
the water while you are encouraging them.
END QUOTE

therapeutic exercises:

http://www.pawsinmotionvet.com/rehabilitation.htm

They mention electrical stimulation to get contractions; that can
also be used in some situations in humans at low levels to exhaust
muscles and end spasms (something that used to be used for me during
my first neural disease).

Also, they show a balance board. Our ferrets use my human balance
board as a toy so it these should be adaptable for some ferrets.

University of TN programs in the field, including those which can be
studied off-campus:

http://www.canineequinerehab.com/rehabilitation-programs.asp

Here is a webpage that I am looking forward to them completing:

http://www.canineequinerehab.com/literature-and-articles.asp

I don't know if all will be able to access this article:

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00205.htm

It is Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine, Robert Taylor

and has a lot of info. (BTW, it does mention that use of electrical
stimulation to end muscle spasms also works in their veterinary
patients.)

Some other sites that could be applicable for ferrets:

http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/David-Levine/

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=362

http://www.tops-vet-rehab.com/NewsArticles/VetPracticeNews012000.html

(includes mention of PT for obesity, too)

http://www.geocities.com/petsurgery/Physical_Therapy.html

http://www.avsspecialists.com/about/serv_pt.shtml

and more.

I notice that Amazon and other venders carry texts. Use search
phrases like "Veterinary Physical Therapy"



Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html