Veterinary physiotherapist
Veterinary physiotherapists work with injured animals, or animals with movement problems, to help reduce pain and improve their health.
Typical Salary
£24,000 – £38,000
per year
Working Hours
38–42
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
As an animal physiotherapist, you could:
- learn about an animal's medical history from its owner, keeper or vet
- work with animals in recovery after operations or accidents
- plan exercise programmes
- use manual and electrotherapy methods to reduce pain and help movement
- write reports on an animal's rehabilitation progress
- use massage and hydrotherapy techniques
Skills needed
- sensitivity and understanding
- to enjoy working with other people
- customer service skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- analytical thinking skills
- to be flexible and open to change
- excellent verbal communication skills
- knowledge of medicine and dentistry
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- specialist courses run by private training organisations
Career progression
With experience, you could become a senior physiotherapist, or a specialist physiotherapist for animal breathing conditions or problems affecting the nervous system.
You could also set up your own animal physiotherapy practice or move into research.