Abstract
This study aimed to determine if physical rehabilitation, in the form of neuromuscular electrical stimulation, hospital/home exercises, and/or underwater treadmill therapy, improved recovery times for dogs undergoing thoracolumbar hemilaminectomy and fenestration for Type I intervertebral disc disease. The initial recovery time was established as time from surgery to 3 unassisted steps to fall. A modified Frankel score for stage of intervertebral disc disease was assigned at intake into physical rehabilitation and at release. The study also examined variables including age, sex, amount of time in rehabilitation, and duration of signs before surgery. Retrospective study design was used. A total of 113 dogs undergoing hemilaminectomy with fenestration for T3-L3 Type I intervertebral disc disease was used. Dogs exhibiting signs of Type I intervertebral disc disease underwent advanced diagnostics before hemilaminectomy with fenestration was performed. In hospital, physical rehabilitation included neuromuscular electrical stimulation, range of motion and sling walking. The owners received home care instructions for exercise, handling, sling walking, elimination management, and what was not allowed from the dogs. Underwater treadmill therapy was initiated 10 to 14 days postoperatively and done on a weekly basis. Additional exercises were progressively added to the program for strength and balance. The average recovery time in this study was 16 days and dogs spent an average of 40 days in formal physical rehabilitation. 23 dogs improved 1 full modified Frankel score (MFS) and 89 dogs did not have a full increase of 1 MFS. More time in formal rehabilitation (P < 0.001) and more underwater treadmill sessions (P < 0.001) increased the dog’s chances of improvement. Physical rehabilitation improves the recovery in a portion of patients undergoing hemilaminectomy with fenestration for Type I thoracolumbar intervertebral disc disease. Key words: Physical rehabilitation, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, intervertebral disc disease, underwater treadmill, modified Frankel score, nociception. 
Highlights
Hansen type I intervertebral disc disease is typically associated with chondroid disc degeneration and has an
One study reported retrieval of disc material in 93% of dogs that had hemilaminectomy compared with 40% with dorsal laminectomy (McKee, 1992)
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation can make the muscles of the pelvic limbs go through an aerobic workout even though the muscles of the hind limbs are not getting the nervous impulses in order to flex and extend (Krauspe et al, 1992; Low and Reed, 2000; Crognale et al, 2013)
Summary
Hansen type I intervertebral disc disease is typically associated with chondroid disc degeneration and has anThe two most common types of decompressive surgery are the dorsal laminectomy and hemilaminectomy. Physical rehabilitation has many modalities that aid in the recovery of dogs that have undergone hemilaminectomy for Hansen’s Type I intervertebral disc disease in the thoracolumbar vertebral column (T3-L3). These include neuromuscular electrical stimulation, exercises such as supported standing, range of motion, side bends, sling walking, underwater treadmill, and strengthening/balance exercises such as walks, circles, weaves and low step-overs. Underwater treadmill aids in gait training by providing buoyancy to make it easier to stand, resistance to help keep the animal’s strength, warm water to help the tight UMN spastic muscles relax so that the handler or animal can sequence the hind legs in a series that mimics walking (Geigle et al, 1997)
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