The 6th International Symposium on Veterinary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy took place in Auburn, Ala., August 3-7, 2010. Approximately 220 participants attended this meeting sponsored by the IAVRPT, an organization for veterinarians and physical therapists interested in both small animal and equine rehabilitation. The first meeting of this group was held in Corvallis, Ore., at OSU in 1999, and it started a national movement to develop physical therapy and rehabilitation for animals. Thirty posters were on display as well as platform talks, hands-on workshops and breakfast talks. The poster presented from Oregon State University was judged to be the best poster and won first prize. The poster was entitled “Effects of Low Level Laser and Therapeutic Ultrasound on Equine Hoof Growth” and was the summer work in 2008 of Jennifer Mitchell and Elizabeth Pollak, Class of 2011. The students spent the entire summer applying these therapeutic modalities to the feet of 12 horses. While the results showed no statistical difference between the rate of growth between either therapy on one hoof and the matching opposite control hoof, the study set the stage for application of these modalities to horses with coronet band injuries. Low Level Laser therapy is best applied to injured tissues to accelerate their rate of healing. Faculty involved in this study were Drs. Linda Blythe, Anna Firshman (now at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Minnesota), and Morrie Craig. Funding was provided by the Biomedical Science Department for summer veterinary students who wished to obtain research experience.
