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Fukuoka CampusSenior Assistant Professor Junji Dan created original supporters for elderly sheep at Omuta City Zoo

In May 2025, Junji Dan, Senior Assistant Professor Department of Physical Therapy at Teikyo University's Faculty of Fukuoka Medical Technology, created original supporters for elderly sheep at Omuta City Zoo.
Our Faculty of Fukuoka Medical Technology and Omuta City Zoo began their relationship after a veterinarian came to us for advice at the university festival in 2016. The faculty regularly visits the zoo, working with veterinarians and zookeepers to care for the animals and provide ongoing support.
This time, we were consulted about measures to help elderly sheep whose walking ability had deteriorated due to arthritis, and we ended up creating a supporter.

There are no commercially available supports specifically for sheep, so the zoo had been using tape to immobilize the sheep's legs, but the amount of pressure applied varied from zookeeper to zookeeper, which could result in the tape being too tight. Senior Assistant Professor Dan, who is researching human supports at our university, therefore wondered whether his research could be applied to animals, and proposed a support specifically for sheep. After repeated minor modifications, the support was completed in May 2025. This special support not only made it easier for the sheep to lift its leg and reduced the amount of dragging it caused, but also allowed it to bend its leg joints, allowing it to stand and sit freely.

Senior Assistant Professor Dan said, "Humans and animals differ in their skeletal structure, how they use their bodies, and how they communicate, but applying physical therapy techniques can also help animals."
Faculty of Fukuoka Medical Technology will continue to utilize its specialized knowledge to promote Community Engagement.

For more information about Faculty of Fukuoka Medical Technology, click here.
Click here for more information about the Senior Assistant Professor

Related information

Click here for the Omuta Public Relations page (June 2025 issue)

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