Current Position

Head Section for Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
starting with 15.04.2025 Vice Rector for Teaching Innovations and Clinical Veterinary Medicine

Education and Experience

Barbara Bockstahler studied veterinary medicine in Vienna, where she initially worked freelance in the small animal practice after completing her studies (1996 – 2002). Since 1999 she has been head of the Service for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Barbara Bockstahler has been a specialist veterinarian for physiotherapy and rehabilitation (Austria) since 2004 and a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner of the University of Tennessee since 2007. Her research interest is dedicated to the biomechanics of dogs and she habilitated on this topic in 2009. In 2016 she became a Diplomate of the American College for Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. She was a founding member and first president of the European College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Teaching Experience

Her responsibilities include the supervision of students on clinical rotations, diploma theses, and doctoral theses. She also leads the university course Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner. As an examiner, she is involved in OSCE, KLIPP, and module assessments.

Her teaching activities encompass lectures and conversatories on Introduction to Veterinary Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Orthopaedic Diseases, including Emergency Block Musculoskeletal System, Interdisciplinary Consideration of Special Issues in Surgery, Ophthalmology, and Rehabilitation Medicine in Small Animals, Selected Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System in Small Animals: Diagnostics and Therapy, and Science in Veterinary Medicine: Basis and Practice. Clinical demonstrations are also an integral part of her teaching.

Research

Her research focuses on the intersection of veterinary medicine, biomechanics, and rehabilitation, particularly within the context of canine health and performance, with several successfully acquired third-party funded projects supporting this work. Throughout her academic career, she has consistently led research projects, resulting in numerous publications. As the project leader, she is frequently listed as the last author, a position that reflects her role in guiding the research from conception to publication.

Awards

In 2024, she won the Data Blast award at the CCRP Reunion in Naples, USA, for her presentation “The Harness Battle.” In 2023, she received the Data Blast award at the CCRP Reunion in Charleston, USA, for “Make Them Stable.” Additionally, in 2013, she was awarded Best WTM Publication 2013.