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Abstract
While physiotherapy is a popular treatment for humans it is less so when it comes to treating animals. Indeed, in the veterinary sector physiotherapy may be seen as an innovation and the reasons for it not being used more widely considered barriers to that innovation. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to identify those barriers and consider strategies for overcoming them. The research underpinning this paper made use of six depth interviews to develop a quantitative questionnaire which was then used as the basis of an online survey of veterinary surgeons using the surveymonkey research platform. The study identified factors such as “client cost concerns” and “awareness of available local services” as being barriers to referring patients while “an increase in the published evidence base” and “inclusion of physiotherapy as part of the curriculum at university” were seen as strategies that would help increase the use of physiotherapy in the veterinary sector.