Abstract: Background: The underwater treadmill (UWTM) is utilized in dogs recovering from thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion (TL-IVDE). Gait scoring is validated for dogs with TL-IVDE walking on the land treadmill (LT) but has not been reported for the UWTM.
Hypothesis/Objectives: Investigate if LT gait analysis could be applied to the UWTM and if non-ambulatory dogs walking on the UWTM, at a standardized water level, would be more likely to generate gait scores compared to the LT without support.
Animals: 20 dogs with TL-IVDE managed surgically
Methods: Prospective, observational study. At 0, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks post-operatively, paired video footage of dogs walking on the LT and UWTM (water level at the greater trochanter) was used to generate 0-100 stepping (SS) and coordination (regularity index, RI) scores. Scores were compared between treadmill type and over time.
Results: Seventy-eight paired recordings were available for review. Median gait scores increased over time but did not differ significantly by treadmill type. Combining SS and RI, more recordings received scores of 0 for the LT (58/156; 37.2% [95%CI: 29.6-45.3%]) compared to the UWTM (44/156; 28.2% [95%CI: 21.3-36.0). Scores of 0, at a visit when there was at least motor present at all joints, was more common on the LT (11/108; 10.2% [95%CI: 5.2-17.5%]) compared to the UWTM (2/108; 1.9% [95%CI: 0.2-6.5%]).
Conclusions and clinical importance: In dogs recovering from TL-IVDE, LT-based gait scoring was feasible to perform in dogs walking on the UWTM and might complement other gait analysis techniques, especially for non-ambulatory dogs.
