Abstract
ABSTRACT: The application of hydrotherapy is growing in the field of animal rehabilitation to improve strength, endurance, fitness, and range of motion, in addition to reducing pain. In the same way, land-based activity is recommended for various conditions, including hypertension, muscle atrophy, and obesity. There is a lack of studies that evaluate the safety of incremental exercise in American Pit Bull Terriers. This study assessed the influence of activity on underwater and dry land treadmills on the physiological parameters of dogs. In this regard, 12 adult, male, healthy, and untrained American Pit Bull Terriers were subjected to an incremental exercise test (IET) on the underwater treadmill (Group I) and the dry land treadmill (Group II). Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and electrocardiographic evaluation, were evaluated before activity (T0), immediately after (T1), 30 min after (T2), and 90 min after the end of exercise (T3), and plasmatic lactate concentrations were measured at T0, T1, and T2 time points. Results obtained were submitted to the Shapiro-Wilk test, ANOVA and Tukey’s test, considering P<0.05. Water activity induced a reduction in RR (P=0.00674) in all examinations after the test on the underwater treadmill and proved to be more demanding than activity on the land treadmill, considering the presence of a deeper and slower RR. Exercise sessions in both groups did not elevate the lactate concentration. The IET can be performed safely on an underwater or dry land treadmill in healthy American Pit Bulls.
Highlights
Activity on an underwater treadmill presents several indications for dogs, such as an increase in muscle mass and an improvement in the quality of life of overweight or cardiopathic animals (XAVIER et al, 2018)
Berkman (2015) evaluated the physiological parameters of American Pit Bull Terriers submitted to the incremental exercise test (IET) on a dry land treadmill, but studies performed on an underwater treadmill for dogs could be considered a gap in the literature
It consisted of measuring heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rectal temperature (RT), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and electrocardiographic evaluation
Summary
Activity on an underwater treadmill presents several indications for dogs, such as an increase in muscle mass and an improvement in the quality of life of overweight or cardiopathic animals (XAVIER et al, 2018). Berkman (2015) evaluated the physiological parameters of American Pit Bull Terriers submitted to the incremental exercise test (IET) on a dry land treadmill, but studies performed on an underwater treadmill for dogs could be considered a gap in the literature. This study tested the hypothesis that the IET performed on underwater and dry land treadmills can cause different effects on the physiological parameters of American Pit Bull Terriers. We attempted to contribute to forming safer and more effective therapeutic protocols to benefit various canine species, especially American Pit Bull Terriers
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