Dr Anastasia Chernyavskaya , DVM, CCRT
From 2006 to 2011, Dr. Chernyavskaya studied in the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K.I. Skryabin to become a veterinary doctor. While she still was a student, she got interested in veterinary surgery, specifically, orthopaedics and neurosurgery. When she was a second-year student, she started to work as a veterinary assistant in veterinary clinics in Moscow and in the vicinity of Moscow (including the Veterinary Center of the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K.I. Skryabin).
Anastasia took an active part in scientific activities of the academy, made speeches at student conferences.In 2008, she took practical training in the veterinary centre in Helmstadt, Germpany (Klinik für Kleintieren Dr. Jenter).
After the fourth year at the academy, Anastasia attended the WSAVA congress in Geneva, Switzerland. After that, she radically changed her view on the situation in veterinary medicine in Russia and the paths of its further development.
From 2010 to 2012, she worked as a veterinary surgical technician and then as a surgeon’s assistant in the Surgery Department and ICU of the Biocontrol veterinary clinic. During this period, she was working actively on development of the operative technique for stabilisation of the knee joint in canine patients with anterior cruciate ligament tear. Several articles on this subject were published (inter alia, in the journals listed by the Higher Attestation Commission) and several speeches were made at Russian veterinary conferences.
In 2012, she worked as an intensivist in the ICU of the Medvet veterinary centre in Dompodedovo, the Moscow region.
Thanks to the opportunity to work in various departments and to try herself in various fields of veterinary medicine, she could trace down the patient history from the first consultation to the discharge from hospital. As a result, she got a from opinion that, at present, physical therapy modalities for orthopaedic and neurological patients are not sufficiently represented in our country.
In 2013, she took practical training in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zurich, Switzerland (UZH, Vetsuisse Fakultät).
From 2013 to 2015, Anastasia was the head of the Physical Therapy Department of the Medvet veterinary centre in Prospekt Vernadskogo. Working there, she managed to put together a team of single-minded professionals with whom she was actively promoting use of physical rehabilitation modalities in veterinary medicine – several articles were published (both in professional journals and in editions for the general public), speeches at Russian veterinary conferences were made, and several videos for Russian state TV channels were recorded.
In 2017, she completed training under the international Veterinary Rehabilitation Therapist Certification program at the University of Colorado, USA (CRI, the Canine Rehabilitation Institute). She is a full member of AARV (the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians), a frequent participant of veterinary conferences included into the CE program, both in Russia and abroad.
Anastasia has a pet, her former patient, a little dog Nyusha, rescued by volunteers and put back on her feet by rehabilitation therapists after a severe pelvis and spine injury, and a big puppy Berty, named after great physicist Albert Einstein and rescued from the street.
Anastasia kindly agreed to answer the following questions:
What are your feelings on how we currently manage this common debilitating condition in dogs?
I may seem too optimistic, but I think that recently we’ve made great progress in such a complex matter as the treatment of osteoarthritis in both humans and animals. New drugs appear that were not available to us before, new studies of treatment methods that were not previously known are published. In our hands is a diverse new ammunition, various devices that can facilitate the daily life of our patients and their owners. And the most important thing is that we began to pay more attention to such things as chronic pain, the quality of life and not just its duration. We are gradually starting to look straight into the eyes of this problem and not turn away.
As a veterinarian what do you feel is essential for managing canine arthritis effectively?
You cannot imagine how much lifestyle actually affects the success of treatment! Even the most advanced therapeutic laser, the safest and most effective pill or the most experienced massage
therapist will not be able to improve the well-being of our patients if we do not monitor what they eat, how much they weigh, how long they walk and what they do during their walks. The flooring in the house, the number of steps on the stairs that have to be passed several times a day, long claws, uncomfortable harness – all this affects the result of treatment much more than it seems. It is very important to pay attention to details, they matter.
How do you see treatment options for arthritis progressing over the next ten years?
I believe that in the future we will be able to completely cure osteoarthritis. Regenerative medicine and bio-engineering sound very promising. It will not be necessary to change a sore joint, it will be possible to grow your new one.
If you could have the opportunity to give one tip/piece of advice to an owner with a dog suffering from arthritis what would it be?
Approach the problem gradually, step by step. Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that developed slow in time. Do not wait for quick and dramatic changes for the better. It is important to be patient and follow the recommendations. And to track the progress you can keep a diary or build a schedule (for example, a schedule for weight loss or the duration of daily walks).
Center for Animal Health and Rehabilitation “Zoostatus”
Moscow, Varshavskoe highway, 125, building 1
+7 499 372 27 37
zoostatus.ru