I’m always looking at that research angle,” he says. At the facility, he works closely with veterinary nurse Ashley Wheeler as they perform physical rehabilitation on animals with various ailments. “At the time we started, there were probably two or three clinics in the country that did rehabilitation for small animals, and there’s probably well over 300 now. We like to think we played a small part in helping create or at least build momentum in this field within veterinary practice.”Įach week, Levine does free work at Chattanooga’s Veterinary Care and Specialty Group, helping as many dogs and cats as he can. The reward for his volunteer time: “I do use a lot of cases for research. “We probably had ten years of laying the groundwork, speaking at local meetings and traveling out of pocket, just trying to build some momentum within the field. It started to become a bit more mainstream about 15 years ago, and now it’s a specialty college within the veterinary field. Levine and Millis talk at least once a week. They are co-editors of multiple books, including Canine Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy and Essential Facts of Physiotherapy in Dogs and Cats, and they have taught courses together in Europe, Japan and Australia. “In the beginning, a lot of people thought we were a bit crazy,” Levine says. Whether it’s education, whether it’s research or teaching, we’ve always approached it from a collaborative point of view because we have different skill sets and different things to contribute.” “I think the big thing that we’ve always promoted is collaboration. “We spent probably about a year just brainstorming and learning each other’s fields a little bit better,” Millis recalls, “and then we decided this was a valid area for veterinarians to become involved with-as well as physical therapists. We put together a weekend continuing education program, and now it’s blossomed into a program that’s taught in six continents around the world. In 1993, several years after joining the UTC faculty, Levine was at the UT Knoxville campus for a meeting. On a lark, he decided to visit the UT College of Veterinary Medicine to see if anyone would be interested in collaborating on animal rehabilitation research. The administrator Levine talked to, Al Legendre, offered a tip about a “new guy coming here.” Three months later, Darryl Millis-now a professor of orthopedic surgery at the UT Vet School-met Levine, and a partnership was born. “After becoming a PT, I wondered a bit about why aren’t we actually doing more for pets.” We’re always thinking about what we can do for our pets,” Levine says. Physical therapy can speed an animal’s recovery, improve quality of life and serve as a low-cost alternative to surgery. Levine was at the forefront in the field. “I think a lot of us are animal lovers. They provide rehabilitative care to pets who have had surgery or have been injured or suffer from chronic pain. Serendipitous meetingĪnimal physical therapists are a relatively new specialty. Cline Chair of Excellence in Physical Therapy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Levine is certified as a specialist in orthopedics by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. His passion, though, is in helping animals. He is a professor and the Walter M. Levine’s day job is in the practice of human physical therapy. We want his back to be as straight as possible. We don’t want the wheelchair to be an up or down.” “So, his back is pretty straight. One question we have is this pretty close to his hip? It looks pretty good. His feet will hang here versus a dog that might be able to put them down and use them a little bit. “This cart has to have these little stirrups because he’s paralyzed. Yet he races around in pure joy now that he is attached to a wheelchair. His physical therapist looks on, making sure the dog and the apparatus are working together, shall we say, paw-in-paw. “We’re looking for things like is this fitting correctly behind the elbow?” explains David Levine, the dog’s physical therapist. Toby is a mixed breed dog who lost function in one back leg last fall. TToby looks up, big brown eyes beaming, a huge smile on his face. He is four years old and without a care in the world. Most importantly, he’s mobile and moving fast. David Levine and Ashley Wheeler work with dogs at Veterinary Care and Specialty Group on Broad Street. UTC Chair of Excellence Physical Therapist David Levine is a pioneer in the field of animal physical therapy.
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