ACPAT: THE BEGINING Mary Bromiley FCSP HPC Chartered Physiotherapist
Forgive the somewhat personal note running through this article but ACPAT was formed as the direct result of personal experience. My father had qualified in Edinburgh, first as a Veterinary Surgeon then as a Doctor of Medicine, and practiced both professions simultaneously through his working life, so a career in the medical field was an obvious choice. Realising my scholastic achievements were unlikely to enable me to be accepted at either Medical or Vet school, I settled on Physiotherapy. Shortly after qualifying at St. Thomas’s, I married and followed my doctor husband to Malaya where he had been sent to work as the first TB specialist to the Brigade of Ghurkas. I was offered, and accepted, a job in the local Leper settlement. Plenty of interesting functional rehabilitation required – try two legless football teams and injury time being called when a leg was lost needing reattachment – a great learning curve. Our respective jobs did not make socialisation easy: ‘and what does your husband do dear?’, senior army wife, ‘he is a TB specialist’, step backward (I might be contaminated), ‘what are you doing to keep yourself amused?’, ‘I work at the Leper Colony’, departure of said wife. We were not sociably acceptable!
very rapidly when you hurt them. I adopted the principles of the examination procedure taught me by James Cyriax, a fanatic about observation; he considered you were a waste of space if you were not spot on, anatomically. ‘Watch the patient move; that tells you a lot’. ‘Know your muscles, their nerve supply and function’. ‘NEVER FORGET YOUR ANATOMY’. When I had, I hoped, identified the primary problem causing loss of performance or a clinical lameness, I incorporated massage, stretching and muscle strengthening. To my surprise, and to the astonishment of the Race Course Vets, not only did horses recover from muscle associated problems but actually raced again, many even winning. On my return to England, no one seemed particularly interested in physiotherapy for animals despite my enthusiasm. Every-day life took over; work, children, ponies, dogs; animals variously came and went within the family. I treated any injuries using exactly the same principles, in so far as was possible, as I would for my human patients. Isolation of a single muscle group impossible, surely the antagonistic groups must be affected as well? Try weight on the limb in question.
Light relief needed, I turned to the local Turf Club and discovered I could buy injured racehorses for their slaughter value. I acquired some broken animals. I still vividly remember the day when a vet whom I was badgering, turned and said ‘you seem able to mend humans, why can’t you mend horses?’ Why not indeed?
Veterinary establishments usually had skeletons lying around – sometimes, in the case of cats and dogs, hanging on the walls in the waiting areas. Thus, while I was not treating many animals, but finding comparative anatomy fascinating, I continued to read, look, learn and dissect. It was always possible to visit the local Hunt Kennels and work on fallen stock.
Anatomy, not quite as simple as the human model – relearn. No verbal communication, no chance of asking ‘where is the pain?’ To palpation skills, add speedy reflex withdrawal of examiner – animals let you know
I was shaken from lethargy into action when a patient I was treating announced she was attending a weekend course and would be, by the end of the weekend, an Animal Physiotherapist. I was irritated and
telephoned the CSP. They, too, were concerned – a Physiotherapist should be Chartered, trained – it was not a weekend job, even if she was only going to treat animals. They promised to investigate. No internet then, no ability to type in a name and learn intimate details! Following my telephone call, enquiry by Penelope Robinson working from CSP head office, revealed that a number of animal therapists were around. Few held any recognised qualification other than Charles Strong, Ros Boisseau and Penelope Richmond Watson, all three Chartered Physiotherapists. Penelope approached the RVC and a working party was formed. Charles Strong seemed to be the only one of the trio recognised by a few Vets as being competent to work with animals – this, as a direct result of Royal Command. His rooms in Harley Street were not far from mine and I made an appointment to see him. He pointed out he had been Knighted for his efforts. This, he informed me, had not amused the CSP. ‘No’, he would not help form a group; ‘yes’, he would teach me all he could, but hands off his Royals! I spent many informative hours watching him wield his Transeva, a very primitive form of muscle stimulator but designed with a much reduced skin sensation when compared to that delivered by the conventional Faradic machine. The machine, although large and cumbersome, was then a great breakthrough. I had recently attempted stimulating gluteal atrophy in a horse due to compete at Badminton using conventional Faradism, and had watched in horror as the patient departed his stable at the first current surge, towing the groom; luckily, the owner, ever unmoved, remarked ‘I always suspected he had a hidden turn of speed’.
ACPAT layout 5 copy.indd 6
31/8/10 08:47:54
